THE 
FATE  OF  A  FAIRY 


BY 


ELLEN    E.  JACK 


CHICAGO 

M.  A.  DONOHUE  &  CO. 
PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT.  1910. 
BY 
E.  JACK 


*3 

^ 


8- 

U>. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FACING  PAGE 
Captain  Jack  Looking  for  a  Company  to  Buy  Mine,  1907...  53 

Captain  Jack  at  One  of  Her  Mines 67 

Captain  Jack's  Fort  in  the  Woods 75 

Captain  Jack  at  Her  Camp 97 

Captain  Jack's  First  Camp,  on  the  High  Drive,  Near  Colo 
rado   Springs    103 

Captain  Jack — Mining  Queen  127 

Captain  Jack  Starting  for  Her  Mines 171 

Captain  Jack — Queen  of  the  Rockies 179 

Captain  Jack  After  a  Day's  Work 197 

Captain  Jack  Lost  in  the  Mountains 203 


THE  FATE  OF  A  FAIRY 


CHAPTER  I. 

I  WAS  born  November  4,  1842,  in  New  Len- 
tern,  Nottingham,  England,  my  parents 
being  William  and  Elizabeth  Elliott.  My  father 
was  one  of  the  patentees  and  manufacturers  of 
the  famous  Nottingham  lace  curtains.  We  be 
longed  to  the  Quaker  sect,  and  the  house  I  was 
born  in  was  the  original  Fox  homestead,  it  hav 
ing  been  occupied  in  continuous  time  for  over 
three  hundred  years.  I  had  five  brothers — 
William,  Charles,  Isaac,  Henry  and  Frank — 
who  all  entered  the  British  navy  as  midshipmen, 
afterward  becoming  officers  of  higher  rank.  I 
had  also  three  sisters — Eliza,  Lydia  and  Betsy 
Ann.  My  sister  Betsy  Ann  was  burned  to 
death  when  very  young,  and  my  sister  Lydia 
got  married,  I  going  to  live  with  her  afterward. 

One  chilly  evening  in  the  beginning  of  Novem 
ber,  in  the  year  1849,  I  stood,  a  little  fair-haired 
girl  dressed  in  the  English  style  of  low-necked 
dress  with  short  sleeves,  looking  at  a  string  of 
covered  wagons  belonging  to  a  tribe  of  gypsies 
that  were  looking  for  a  place  to  camp.  It  was  the 
time  of  the  Goose  Fair  at  Nottingham,  which  is  a 
beautiful,  thrifty  and  prosperous  manufacturing 

5 


6  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

town  of  England.  The  law  was  very  strict,  it 
being  imprisonment  or  fine  if  gypsies  were  found 
camping  on  the  highway  or  on  city  property. 
They  were  trying  to  see  if  they  could  get  per 
mission  to  occupy  one  of  the  fields,  and  as  they 
caught  sight  of  me  watching  them,  they  spoke 
in  their  own  language.  Then  the  queen,  a  tall, 
dark  woman,  came  over  to  me  and  said  : 

"Who  lives  in  that  house  among  the  trees  ?" 

I  said,  "My  mamma. " 

"Well,  you  are  the  fairest  little  one  I  have 
ever  seen.  Come  and  take  me  to  your  mamma. ' ' 

So  she  took  my  hand  and  we  both  went  to 
my  mother,  and  the  queen  told  her  she  would  pay 
her  well  for  the  use  of  the  ground  while  the  fair 
lasted  and  that  not  a  blade  of  grass  should  be 
harmed  by  her  tribe  if  she  would  let  them  in* 
My  mother  said,  "They  say  gypsies  steal  child 
ren.  Would  thee  steal  mine?" 

The  queen  said:  "I  give  thee  my  hand  and 
pledge  that  we  will  not  steal  anything  belonging 
to  you,  or  let  anyone  else,  if  we  know  it." 

So  she  gave  five  pounds  to  my  mother,  then 
she  turned  my  hair  back  from  my  forehead  and 
said: 

"This  child  was  born  to  be  a  great  traveler, 
and  if  she  had  been  a  male  would  have  been  a 
great  mining  expert.  She  is  a  Rosicrusian,  born 
to  find  hidden  treasures.  She  will  meet  great 
sorrows  and  be  a  widow  early  in  life.  Fire  will 
cause  her  great  trouble  and  losses.", 

My  mother  did  not  believe  in  fortune-telling 
and  paid  no  attention  to  the  predictions  of  the 
queen.  After  that  the  gates  were  opened  and 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  7 

the  tribe  came  in.  It  was  getting  cold  and  dark, 
but  I  wanted  to  see  what  they  were  going  to  do, 
so  I  stole  away  to  watch  them  at  their  work. 
Some  were  putting  up  the  tents,  others  were 
making  camp-fires;  all  was  life  and  everyone 
knew  what  to  do.  When  the  work  was  done 
they  all  gathered  around  the  fire  and  sang  and 
played  fiddles,  tambourines  and  other  instru 
ments  of  which  I  do  not  know  the  names.  I 
could  not  understand  a  word  that  was  said,  and 
that  puzzled  me  very  much.  It  was  a  strange 
sight  to  see  such  a  merry  lot  of  dark-looking 
people  outside  the  tents  and  around  the  big  fire. 
We  afterward  learned  that  they  were  the  Bos- 
well  tribe,  and  that  the  men  were  veterinary 
doctors  and  horse-traders  and  the  women  made 
fancy  baskets  and  told  fortunes. 

The  queen  had  a  grand-daughter  a  year  older 
than  I,  whose  name  was  Zephey.  She  was  a 
marvel  for  one  so  young.  She  could  dance  and 
sing,  play  the  tambourine  and  castanets,  and 
with  bones  between  her  fingers  would  keep 
time  to  her  dancing.  She  was  very  pretty  and 
it  was  a  treat  to  see  her  at  her  antics.  A  great 
attachment  sprang  up  between  her  and  me,  and 
she  tried  to  teach  me  her  songs  and  told  me  many 
things  about  the  tribe. 

It  was  now  getting  toward  the  close  of  the  fair, 
and  on  Saturday  the  queen  got  Zephey  and  me 
to  go  with  her  to  the  walnut  grove  and  get  a 
great  collection  of  husks.  I  soon  found  out  what 
they  were  used  for.  They  put  them  in  a  large 
pot  of  cold  water,  which  they  hung  over  the  fire 
to  get  the  color  out.  With  this  they  dyed  their 


8  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

hair,  then  diluted  some  with  water  and  put  it 
on  their  faces,  necks  and  arms.  This  made  their 
black  hair  as  glossy  as  silk  and  gave  them  a 
clear,  olive  complexion.  They  fixed  themselves 
up  in  this  way  on  Saturday  night  and  on  Sunday 
morning  went  in  a  body  to  the  church.  The 
men  had  knee-breeches  and  buckles  on  their 
shoes,  the  old  men  wearing  black  stockings  and 
the  young  men  red  ones.  Black  hats  with  red 
bands  around,  and  shirts  with  turned -down 
rolling  Byron  collars,  some  with  red  handker 
chiefs  and  some  with  black  for  ties,  completed 
their  picturesque  costume.  The  women  wore 
black  beaver  bonnets  with  long  white  plumes, 
and  long  scarlet  cloaks  with  yokes  that  covered 
their  dresses.  They  walked  in  pairs  to  the 
church  and  took  seats  together  in  one  corner. 
After  the  service  two  of  the  young  people  were 
married.  It  was  a  gypsy  wedding  conducted 
according  to  the  laws  of  England,  but  they  had 
another  form  which  they  went  through  after 
they  got  back  to  their  tents. 

They  all  came  outside  and  formed  a  circle 
around  the  bride  and  groom.  The  queen  had 
a  gold  charm  in  a  piece  of  black  velvet  hanging 
in  the  center  of  her  forehead,  which  she  always 
wore.  She  had  on  a  white  dress  with  wide, 
flowing  sleeves.  Zephey  carried  a  wreath  and 
bouquet  of  everlasting  daisy  flowers.  They 
stood  in  the  center  of  the  circle.  Then  the 
queen  threw  up  her  left  sleeve  and  above  the 
elbow  was  a  bracelet  in  the  form  of  a  serpent,  all 
a-glitter  with  diamonds  and  rubies.  She  then 
took  a  penknife  concealed  within  the  bracelet 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  9 

and  going  over  to  the  groom  cut  a  small  hole  in 
his  shirt,  right  over  his  heart.  Into  this  she 
put  the  bouquet  and  then  placed  the  wreath  on 
the  bride's  head,  saying: 

"The  fresh,  beautiful  flowers  that  bloom  with 
their  fragrance  in  the  sun  soon  droop  and  perish, 
the  slightest  frost  withers  them,  but  I  crown  you 
with  the  everlasting  daisies,  which  storm  nor 
frost  cannot  destroy,,  My  children,  may  your 
lives  be  as  simple  and  your  love  for  each  other  as 
everlasting  as  these  simple  wild  flowers." 

Then  the  songs  started  and  all  kinds  of  merri 
ment  and  feasting  were  indulged  in  until  a  late 
hour. 

The  next  morning  at  sunrise  they  took  down 
their  tents,  packed  up  and  went  away  and  I  saw 
no  more  of  them  for  two  years. 

My  great-grandmother  was  107  years  old  and 
very  childish.  People  would  come  for  miles 
around  to  see  the  old  granny  who  lived  in  the  old 
homestead  originally  the  home  of  George  Fox, 
from  whom  our  family  was  descended.  My 
grandmother's  maiden  name  was  Mary  Fox 
and  her  mother  was  of  the  same  name,  all  born 
in  this  homestead,  which  consisted  of  beautiful 
grounds  that  surrounded  the  quaint  old  thatched 
cottage.  It  stood  on  the  bank  of  the  river 
Trent,  and  the  famous  regattas  could  be  seen 
from  the  bank  near  the  house.  The  house  was 
buried  amid  the  old  oak  trees  and  the  sides  were 
covered  with  creeping  ivy  and  clinging  moss 
roses.  The  roof  was  covered  with  mosses  of 
different  colors  and  a  more  romantic  and  beauti 
ful  place  could  not  be  found.  Clifton  Grove, 


10  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

which  was  a  great  pleasure  resort,  was  one-half 
mile  from  us,  and  Willf ord,  our  little  village,  was 
one  mile  from  Nottingham. 

Granny  knew  that  I  attracted  as  much  atten 
tion  for  being  a  very  smart  and  attractive  child 
as  she  did  for  her  great  age  and  ancient  appear 
ance,  and  in  consequence  took  a  great  dislike 
to  me.  If  she  could  find  me  alone  she  would 
beat  me  unmercifully  and  tear  my  hair  out  by 
the  handful.  In  fact  she  became  so  vicious  that 
mother  had  to  keep  a  constant  watch  on  me 
for  fear  she  would  kill  me. 

I  would  go  out  rambling  in  the  fields  and  hills 
when  my  mother  would  be  absent,  singing  to 
myself  and  filling  my  apron  with  blackberries, 
primroses  and  wildflowers.  While  on  one  of 
these  excursions  to  the  hills  I  thought  of  what 
the  gypsy  queen  had  told  me,  that  I  was  born 
to  find  hidden  treasure,  so  I  procured  a  knife 
and  went  down  to  the  bank  of  the  river  Trent 
and  began  to  dig,  thinking  this  was  the  bank 
my  father  had  spoken  of  when  he  said  he  had  put 
his  money  in  the  bank,  but  all  I  got  for  my 
trouble  was  to  have  the  folk  laugh  at  me. 

About  a  month  later  granny  sat  watching  a 
winding  sheet  in  the  candle  and  said  she  would 
not  go  to  bed  until  she  found  out  if  it  was  a 
young  or  old  person  who  was  going  to  die.  She 
said  it  was  a  sure  token  of  early  death  if  the 
winding  sheet  dropped  off  before  the  candle  was 
much  burned;  if  it  stayed  on  until  the  candle 
was  burned  out  it  would  be  an  old  person;  if  it 
dropped  in  the  middle  it  would  be  a  person  of 
middle  age.  So  she  watched  the  candle  until 
it  was  burned  out  and  then  said: 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  11 

"I  will  go  to  bed  now,  for  I  have  found  out 
that  I  will  soon  leave  this  place  and  will  meet 
William,  my  husband." 

At  10  o'clock  the  next  morning  she  was  dead. 
Then  I  could  go  about  without  having  my  hair 
torn  out. 

Two  years  have  passed  and  Nottingham  Goose 
Fair  is  close  at  hand.  I  have  not  seen  aught  of 
the  gypsies,  but  I  had  a  presentiment  that  they 
would  come  this  year,  so  I  began  to  gather  dry 
leaves,  as  the  fair  is  held  in  November  and  the 
leaves  were  falling.  I  gathered  a  large  bed  of 
them  and  was  as  busy  as  a  bee,  gathering  sticks 
for  their  fires,  so  that  when  they  came  they  would 
have  them  at  hand.  I  did  not  work  in  vain,  for 
two  days  before  the  fair  the  gypsies  came  and  I 
got  hugged  by  the  whole  party,  old  and  young, 
for  the  trouble  I  had  been  to  in  preparing  for 
their  reception.  I  was  surprised  to  find  how 
beautiful  Zephey,  the  10-year  old  gypsy  girl, 
had  grown.  She  asked  me  if  I  remembered  the 
songs  she  had  taught  me  when  she  was  there 
before,  but  I  was  too  young  to  recollect.  The 
queen  brought  me  a  tambourine  for  a  present, 
which  delighted  me  very  much,  and  I  soon  began 
to  sing  the  gypsy  girls*  songs. 

There  was  a  horse  disease,  like  the  glanders, 
raging  at  the  time,  but  known  at  the  present 
time  as  the  epizootic,  and  the  gypsy  king,  Bos- 
well,  being  a  veterinary  surgeon,  made  plenty  of 
money  doctoring  horses. 

The  gypsies  were  making  preparations  to  de 
part  when  the  little  girl  Zephey  took  sick  and 
died.  I  was  so  much  attached  to  her  that  they 


12  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

could  not  persuade  me  to  leave  her  until  the 
funeral,  which  was  indeed  a  very  sad  affair . 
Eight  young  gypsy  women  dressed  in  white, 
with  white  silk  hoods  and  white  scarfs,  crossed 
over  the  right  shoulder  and  tied  with  black  rib 
bon  under  the  left  arm,  were  the  pallbearers. 
Two  went  first,  two  on  each  side  and  two  behind, 
carrying  the  coffin,  and  when  halfway  to  the 
church  they  changed  places.  The  two  that  were 
in  the  front  and  the  two  behind  took  the  places 
of  the  four  that  had  been  carrying  the  coffin, 
and  the  latter  fell  into  the  places  of  the  four  that 
had  relieved  them.  All  the  band  of  gypsies 
followed  by  twos,  the  Women  wearing  long 
scarlet  cloaks  and  large  black  beaver  bonnets 
with  long  white  plumes. 

When  they  got  to  the  grave  in  the  church 
yard,  they  all  knelt  around  the  grave  and  began 
to  chant  in  their  own  dialect,  which  I  could  not 
understand.  I  stood  at  a  short  distance  watch 
ing  them  with  tears  coursing  down  my  cheeks. 
After  they  had  performed  their  strange  burial 
rites,  I  remained  and  gathered  my  apron  full 
of  wild  flowers,  which  I  strewed  over  Zephey's 
grave.  Then  I  sat  down  and  sang: 

"Death  has  been  here  and  borne  away 

A  sister  from  our  side, 
Just  in  the  morning  of  her  day, 
As  young  as  me  she  died. 

"Not  long  ago  she  filled  her  place, 

And  sat  with  us  to  learn, 
And  now  she's  run  her  mortal  race, 
Which  never  can  return." 

It  was  sad  for  me  so  young,  sitting  all  alone  in 
the  twilight,  as  darkness  came  and  I  looked  at 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  13 

the  last  resting  place  of  one  I  loved  as  a  sister. 
I  had  never  seen  death  before  and  it  seemed  as 
though  I  could  not  have  so  beautiful  a  girl  as 
Zephey  was  left  all  alone  in  the  ground  with 
darkness  coming  on.  I  dried  my  eyes,  however, 
and  went  home  with  a  very  heavy  heart,  but 
could  not  sleep  until  near  morning.  When  nurse 
came  to  my  bed  I  was  in  a  raging  fever.  I  had 
scarlet  fever  and  was  in  a  dangerous  condition. 

When  the  gypsies  learned  that  I  had  caught 
the  fever  from  Zephey  they  were  very  sorry 
and  insisted  that  I  was  too  young  and  fair  for 
this  world  and  that  I  would  follow  Zephey.  In 
my  ravings  I  would  be  singing  the  burial  hymn 
and  be  gathering  wild  flowers  for  Zephey 's  grave. 
I  was  sick  for  many  weeks  and  knew  nothing, 
and  when  I  came  to  my  senses  again  the  gypsies 
were  all  gone. 

The  next  spring  my  parents  left  the  old  home 
stead  which  had  been  the  home  of  my  ancestors 
for  over  300  years.  My  father  bought  the 
Albion  brewery  in  Manchester  and  we  moved 
there.  The  business  was  a  failure,  however, 
and  we  lost  a  lot  of  money. 

One  of  my  sisters  got  married  to  a  wealthy 
merchant,  and  shortly  after  her  marriage  my 
father  took  sick  with  cholera.  Every  one  of  our 
neighbors  became  frightened  for  fear  of  con 
tagion  and  left  mother  all  alone.  When  I  came 
home  from  school  I  found  my  father  in  great 
agony  and  nobody  there  to  care  for  him  but 
mother,  so  I  went  to  the  bed  to  rub  him  and  do 
all  I  could  to  relieve  his  sufferings,  but  at  6 
o'clock  the  same  day  he  died. 


14  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  my  father  my 
mother  went  back  to  New  Lentern,  near  Not 
tingham,  to  live  and  I  was  left  with  my  married 
sister.  They  owned  a  large  house  which  no  one 
would  live  in  for  ten  years,  as  it  had  the  reputa 
tion  of  being  haunted.  Her  husband  had  it  all 
newly  painted  and  furnished,  so  we  went  to  live 
there.  The  first  night  we  were  there  all  the  bells 
in  the  house  began  to  ring  and  we  all  got  out  of 
bed  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  We  made  a 
search,  but  found  nothing,  and  the  servant 
girl  left  the  next  morning,  saying  the  devil 
was  in  the  house.  My  sister  was  very  much 
frightened  and  her  husband  was  puzzled. 

The  next  night  it  was  worse,  if  anything,  than 
the  former,  for  the  bells  rang  so  that  we  could 
not  get  any  sleep.  My  sister  would  not  stay  in 
the  house  and  left  the  fourth  day,  but  I  was 
anxious  to  see  a  ghost  and  remained  to  satisfy 
my  curiosity.  I  slept  all  day  and  at  night  lit  a 
rush-light  candle  and  sat  waiting  for  Mr.  Ghost 
to  make  his  music.  I  sat  a  long  time  before  I 
heard  or  saw  anything,  but  began  to  think  we 
would  have  no  concert  that  night,  and  was  just 
about  to  go  to  bed  when  the  bells  began  to  ring. 

I  was  sitting  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  looking 
up  to  the  bell  wires,  which  were  all  in  a  row  in 
the  hall,  when  I  saw  the  ghosts,  a  whole  drove 
of  rats,  running  back  and  forth  over  the  wires. 
Their  weight  on  the  wires  running  back  and 
forth  caused  the  bells  to  ring.  My  sister  came 
back  the  next  day  and  when  she  found  out  the 
cause  of  the  ringing  she  felt  ashamed.  Her 
husband  put  dogs  and  ferrets  to  work  and  soon 
got  rid  of  the  rats, 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  15 

In  a  week  or  so  after  I  had  solved  the  great 
mystery  of  the  haunted  house  my  sister  gave  a 
party,  to  which  she  invited  many  nabobs, 
among  them  being  a  German  family  who  brought 
with  them  a  young  gentleman,  a  Russian,  who 
had  come  to  England  to  finish  his  education. 
He  was  a  very  fine  musician,  a  handsome  man 
and  highly  educated,  his  large  brown  eyes  hav 
ing  a  dreamy  expression.  He  went  by  the 
name  of  Carl,  and  when  he  sang  and  played  my 
gypsy  songs  he  made  himself  a  great  favorite 
with  the  company.  After  that  night  he  came 
often  to  spend  the  evenings  at  my  sister's  and 
she  began  to  joke  about  it  and  said  I  had  a  beau. 

I  thought  so  myself,  but  would  not  acknowl 
edge  the  corn.  Things  went  on  smoothly  for 
months  and  we  took  long  rambles  together, 
afoot,  on  horseback  and  in  carriages,  and  he 
would  call  me  his  fairy.  I  thought  him  the 
finest  man  in  the  world,  and  with  him  I  was  the 
happiest  creature  on  earth,  but  without  him 
the  world  was  a  blank.  We  would  sit  on  the 
bank  of  the  river  and  I  would  play  the  guitar  and 
sing,  "Ever  of  thee  I  am  fondly  dreaming," 
while  he  would  be  all  attention  and  throw  peb 
bles  into  the  brook. 

When  I  had  finished  my  song  he  took  my 
hands  in  his  and  declared  he  could  and  would 
not  live  without  me.  He  asked  me  to  become 
his  wife  as  soon  as  he  had  finished  his  studies, 
and  so  we  became  engaged.  He  called  me  his 
darling,  I  called  him  my  beauty,  and  thought 
this  world  was  fairer  than  ever  before. 

But  alas!  How  soon  was  my  air  castle  doomed 


16  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

to  fall  and  I  doomed  to  disappointment!  My 
foreign  lover  was  called  back  to  Russia  to  do 
military  service,  which  was  the  custom  of  the 
country.  After  he  had  been  gone  three  weeks 
my  cousin,  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Jack 
Dickson,  came  to  the  house  and  one  evening 
asked  me  to  go  to  the  opera  house  to  hear 
Piccolominni  sing.  I  did  not  care  to  go,  as  I  was 
grieving  over  the  absence  of  my  lover,  but  my 
sister  begged  me  to  go,  so  I  went.  I  felt  very 
sad  all  evening  and  paid  no  attention  to  the 
prima  donna,  as  my  thoughts  were  far  away  at 
that  time.  When  we  left  the  opera  house  I  felt 
faint  and  caught  hold  of  Cousin  Jack.  He  went 
to  buy  a  bouquet  of  flowers,  and  as  I  stood  on  the 
sidewalk  waiting  for  him  I  was  struck  in  the 
bosom  three  times  with  a  dagger,  the  blade 
entering  just  above  my  heart.  Jack  came 
running  to  see  what  was  the  matter  and  was  met 
by  Carl,  my  Russian  lover,  who  said  that  he 
would  kill  him  if  he  put  a  hand  on  me,  as  he 
would  rather  see  me  dead  than  another  man's 
wife.  I  fainted  from  loss  of  blood  and  at  the 
same  time  the  officers  came,  disarmed  him  and 
took  him  to  prison. 

I  was  put  into  a  cab  and  driven  home.  When 
my  wounds  were  dressed  it  was  found  that  the 
first  wound  was  one  and  one-half  inches  above 
my  heart  and  the  second  about  four  inches  to  the 
right,  both  deep  and  painful  and  very  dangerous. 
I  was  confined  to  my  room  for  eighteen  weeks 
and  suffered  much,  but  the  pain  in  my  poor 
tortured  heart  was  worse  than  all.  I  thought 
it  impossible  that  the  hand  that  had  held  mine 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  17 

so  confidently  could  in  so  brief  a  period  strike 
me  such  a  dreadful  blow,  and  I  wept  many  bit 
ter  tears  and  prayed  God  to  forgive  him,  for  he 
must  surely  have  been  mad  with  jealousy.  I 
grew  convalescent,  but  very  slowly,  and  will 
carry  the  cruel  scars  to  my  grave. 

Carl  was  released  on  payment  of  a  big  sum  of 
money,  but  I  was  afraid  of  him.  He  begged  to 
come  and  see  me,  but  my  sister  stood  firm  and 
refused  to  let  him  enter  the  house. 

My  sister  and  her  husband  concluded  to  go 
to  New  York  and  began  making  preparations 
for  the  journey,  as  the  firm  with  which  he  was 
connected  had  a  branch  there.  I  begged  to  go 
with  them  and  they  decided  to  take  me  along, 
as  I  was  still  very  weak  and  the  doctor  said  that 
it  would  be  a  great  benefit  for  me  to  make  the 
change. 

On  November  2,  1859,  we  left  Liverpool  in 
the  "Harvest  Queen"  of  the  Black  Ball  Line, 
and  on  the  voyage  we  were  very  sick  for  several 
days.  Then  we  began  to  feel  better  and  were 
able  to  come  on  deck.  I  was  surprised  to  see 
so  many  women  and  children  on  the  lower  deck, 
going  to  their  meals,  and  when  we  got  on  the 
coast  of  Ireland  they  took  on  a  great  many 
more  passengers.  The  weather  was  very  fine  t 
and  we  had  no  trouble  in  getting  out  of  the* 
channel,  but  after  two  days'  sail  from  Holy- 
head  a  dreadful  storm  set  in  and  everything 
was  in  confusion.  The  waves  met  together 
under  the  ship  and  it  felt  as  though  a  cannon 
ball  had  struck  it.  The  captain  ordered  all 
fires  out  as  the  storm  increased.  The  steward 


18  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

brought  us  some  cold  meat  and  bread  and 
cheese,  as  it  was  impossible  to  set  the  table,  and 
this  we  ate  from  our  hands.  The  steward  was 
a  colored  man,  and  as  he  was  handing  some 
bread  to  a  lady  passenger  the  ship  gave  a  plunge 
so  suddenly  that  we  all  lost  our  balance  and 
went  sprawling  on  the  floor.  The  steward  tried 
to  catch  the  table  to  save  himself,  but  missed 
his  hold  and  went  over  the  table  head  foremost, 
hitting  an  old  lady  who  was  screaming  at  the 
top  of  her  voice  for  God  to  help  and  save  her. 

I,  being  young,  soon  extricated  myself  from 
the  mass  and  tried  to  help  the  rest,  but  when  I 
saw  the  black  man  rolling  among  the  ladies  and 
heard  their  cries  for  help,  the  scene  looked  so 
ridiculous  that  instead  of  trying  to  help  them  I 
could  do  nothing  for  laughter.  Such  a  sight  I 
never  shall  forget.  The  noise  of  the  waves,  the 
wailing  of  the  wind  and  the  shrieks  of  the 
women,  who  were  all  piled  together,  was  a 
scene  not  to  be  forgotten. 

No  one  thought  of  undressing  or  going  to  bed 
that  night,  for  our  berths  were  all  wet  from  the 
waves  which  came  in  through  the  portholes,  so 
we  made  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  we  could. 
In  the  morning  I  went  up  to  the  state  cabin  and 
put  my  head  out  of  the  scuttle,  and  what  a  sight 
met  my  eyes!  The  ship  looked  as  if  it  were  in  a 
deep  hole  between  the  large  waves  of  pale  green 
water  capped  with  white  foam.  The  next 
moment  with  a  bound  it  was  on  top  of  the  waves 
and  we  shipped  a  big  sea.  The  water  nearly 
washed  me  off  my  feet  and  I  was  forced  to  go 
"below  and  change  my  drenched  clothing. 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  19 

After  the  storm  had  abated  and  the  men  be 
gan  to  get  things  in  order  it  was  found  that  a 
young  Irish  girl  in  trying  to  get  on  deck  had 
been  washed  by  the  waves  against  one  of  the 
hatches,  breaking  both  of  her  legs.  The  doctor 
came  into  the  cabin  and  said  he  wanted  help, 
as  the  ship  was  rolling  so  badly  that  it  was  al 
most  as  much  as  he  could  do  to  steady  himself. 
The  ladies  all  declared  that  they  could  not  go 
into  steerage  and  bear  the  sight  of  the  operation. 
I  asked  the  doctor  if  I  could  be  of  any  service 
to  him  and  he  said  that  I  was  rather  young,  but 
might  as  well  learn  young  as  any  other  time,  so 
I  went  with  him.  He  took  a  long  rope  and  tied 
the  unfortunate  girl  tightly  so  that  she  could 
not  move  nor  roll  around  in  her  berth.  He  then 
went  to  work  to  set  her  limbs,  but  finding  that 
this  could  not  be  done,  decided  that  they  must 
be  amputated.  He  bound  them  up  and  left  her 
until  it  would  grow  calm,  so  that  the  operation 
might  be  possible.  She  was  a  beautiful  girl, 
eighteen  years  old,  with  large  dark  eyes  and 
splendid  white  teeth. 

It  was  a  sad  sight  to  see  one  so  young  and 
beautiful  with  so  much  affliction  brought  upon 
her  in  so  brief  a  space  of  time,  and  I  could  not 
bring  myself  to  realize  her  condition.  I  left  her, 
telling  her  I  would  return  in  a  few  hours.  It 
grew  calmer  and  we  all  went  to  bed  for  the  first 
time  in  two  nights. 

When  I  awoke  the  next  morning,  the  sea  was 
calm  and  the  weather  very  fine.  After  break 
fast  I  went  to  the  steward's  pantry  and  got  some 
nice  things  to  take  to  the  sick  girl,  in  company 


20  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

with  the  doctor,  who  went  to  see  his  patient. 
I  gave  her  the  breakfast  and  she  ate  heartily, 
saying  that  she  was  very  hungry.  When  she 
had  finished,  the  doctor  commenced  operating 
on  her  limbs.  He  took  a  mallet  and  a  chisel 
and  un jointed  her  limbs  at  the  knees,  and  of  all 
the  horrible  sounds  that  I  have  ever  heard, 
that  was  the  worst.  The  poor  creature  looked 
so  pitifully  at  me  with  her  large  dark  eyes  while 
I  held  her  hand,  that  I  could  scarcely  keep  from 
breaking  down  and  I  turned  my  back  on  the 
doctor,  as  I  could  not  bear  to  witness  the  cruel 
operation. 

The  girl  was  pale  as  death  and  at  times  her 
eyes  would  glaze  and  she  would  cry:  "Oh! 
mother,  save  me,  save  me!" 

There  were  her  brother  and  two  cousins  on 
board  who  knew  that  her  limbs  were  being  am 
putated,  but  they  were  on  deck,  reading  their 
prayers  out  of  their  old  Catholic  prayer  book. 
When  the  operation  was  over  I  did  all  that  I 
could  to  sooth  her,  going  every  day  to  take  her 
food  from  the  cabin. 

She  told  me  that  her  unnatural  father  had 
turned  her  out  of  his  house,  and  a  sister  in  New 
York  had  sent  her  money  enough  to  bring  her 
self  and  brother  out.  It  was  a  very  sad  meeting  for 
those  sisters.  The  young  girl  was  engaged  to  a 
young  blacksmith,  who  was  a  Protestant,  and 
this  was  the  cause  of  the  trouble  with  her  father, 
who  had  told  her  that  if  she  did  not  break  her 
engagement  he  would  put  her  out  of  his  house. 
This  she  refused  to  do  and  one  night  he  turned 
her  out  into  the  cold,  with  neither  bonnet  nor 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  21 

shawl  to  protect  her  from  the  weather.     I  sang 
for  her  the  verse  of  a  song  which  ran  as  follows : 

"Oh!  cruel  was  that  father,  who  shut  his  doors  on  me, 
And  cruel  was  the  mother  that  such  a  sight  could  see, 
And  cruel  were  the  bitter  winds,  that  brought  this  grief 
on  me." 

When  we  came  in  sight  of  New  York  it  pre 
sented  the  most  beautiful  sight  I  ever  saw.  I 
think  it  is  the  most  beautiful  harbor  in  the 
world  and  the  clear  blue  sky  was  more  beautiful 
than  anything  I  had  ever  seen  in  England, 
where  the  sky  looks  smoky  always.  I  was  so 
delighted  with  the  scenery,  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson,  the  views  of  Staten  Island  and  the 
beautiful  surroundings,  that  I  felt  I  was  in 
paradise. 

We  got  to  New  York  about  2  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon.  I  was  taken  to  the  Astor  House 
on  Broadway,  and  as  I  began  to  look  around 
there  was  a  big  show  on  the  corner  of  Fulton 
street.  Across  the  way  was  the  Astor  House 
and  Barnum's  museum  with  its  big  pictures  and 
a  band  on  the  outside.  They  were  just  starting 
another  big  hotel  on  Fourteenth  and  Broadway 
to  be  named  the  Fifth  Avenue  Hotel.  I  was 
there  six  weeks  when  I  was  taken  ill  with  jaun 
dice  and  became  as  yellow  as  a  dandelion.  By 
this  time  my  brother-in-law  had  finished  his 
business  and  was  ready  to  return,  but  my  con 
dition  was  such  that  it  was  impossible  for  me 
to  leave.  They  had  secured  a  very  good  middle- 
aged  woman  to  take  care  of  me  and  I  had  a  good 
old  doctor,  and  as  they  could  be  of  no  further 
assistance  I  said,  "Both  of  you  go  and  I  will 
come  when  I  get  better/' 


22  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  winter  was  very  lonely  for  me,  a  stranger 
in  a  foreign  country  and  sick,  so  I  got  the 
nurse  to  look  out  for  a  good  chance  to  go  back. 
In  March,  1860,  we  took  passage  on  the  "James 
Foster"  of  the  Black  Ball  line,  as  the  captain's 
wife  and  child  were  going  on  the  voyage.  At 
that  time  there  were  only  two  lines  of  steamers, 
the  Cunard  and  the  Inman,  and  they  had  only 
a  few  ships.  It  was  a  very  cold  morning  when 
the  carriage  took  me  to  the  ship.  I  could  not 
get  up  the  plank,  and  the  coachman  was  trying 
to  help  me  when  the  first  officer  came  forward, 
picked  me  up  in  his  arms  as  though  I  was  a  child, 
and  took  me  into  the  cabin  and  placed  me  on  the 
lounge.  He  then  called  the  stewardess  to  take 
my  wraps  and  myself  to  the  stateroom. 

The  captain's  wife  came  and  said:  "You  are 
the  sick  lady  that  is  going  with  us?"  I  replied: 
"I  am  a  canary  bird  now,"  for  I  was  yellow 
with  jaundice,  "but  I  hope  to  get  whiter  and 
better  by  this  voyage." 

She  went  up  on  deck  and  told  the  captain  and 
the  mate  that  she  had  been  to  see  me  and  she 
did  not  know  which  was  the  more  yellow,  my 
hair  or  my  skin,  and  still  I  was  so  full  of  jokes 
and  fun.  The  first  officer  then  said: 

"You  will  be  surprised  when  I  tell  you  that  be 
fore  this  year  is  out  that  yellow  girl  will  be  my 
wife.  When  I  saw  her  beautiful  golden  locks 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  23 

I  was  attracted  to  her  and  when  I  picked  her  up 
in  my  arms  I  knew  she  belonged  to  me,  and  I 
will  have  her,  let  the  weather  be  fair  or  foul.1' 

The  captain  went  and  laid  his  hands  on  his 
shoulders  and  said: 

"Yes,  my  boy,  we  salts  can  love  and  feel  it 
deep  down  in  our  souls.  Few  land-lovers  know 
the  depth  of  feeling  of  Jack  Tars,  and  you  surely 
have  met  your  fate.  I  hope  you  will  meet  with 
smiles  and  not  frowns,  as  any  girl  should  be 
proud  of  such  a  fine,  handsome-looking  chap  as 
you,  so  sail  in  for  her  and  my  best  wishes  are  for 
you." 

I  was  very  seasick  for  three  days  and  did  not 
leave  my  stateroom,  but  on  the  fourth  day  I  got 
out,  went  to  the  saloon  in  the  afternoon  and  sat 
at  the  table  for  the  first  time.  It  seemed  like  a 
family  gathering,  for  the  captain  and  his  wife, 
the  first  officer,  the  ship's  doctor  and  myself 
were  the  only  ones  present,  as  I  was  the  only 
first-class  passenger.  There  were  a  large  num 
ber  of  steerage  passengers. 

The  weather  was  very  fine  and  we  did  not  make 
much  speed,  owing  to  lack  of  wind,  but  I  noticed 
that  Mr.  Charles  E.  Jack,  the  first  officer,  was  all 
attention  to  me,  and  everything  that  he  could 
do  for  my  pleasure  or  comfort  he  did.  When  I 
went  on  deck  he  had  always  a  nice  place  picked 
out  for  me,  with  some  of  his  thick,  heavy  blank 
ets  to  wrap  about  my  feet  if  I  needed  them.  He 
never  went  far  away  from  where  I  was. 

After  we  had  been  out  about  three  weeks  there 
was  a  very  heavy  gale,  the  ship  rolled  and 
plunged  and  the  noise  of  the  wind  in  the  rigging 


24  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

was  something  terrible.  I  was  nervous,  too, 
being  sick  so  long  and  frightened  at  the  noises 
on  deck  and  the  powerful  voices  of  the  captain 
and  mate  shouting  to  the  men.  All  was  con 
fusion  and  noise  there.  The  storm  lasted  for 
twenty-four  hours  and  we  had  to  hold  fast  to  the 
railing  of  the  seats  to  keep  from  being  dashed 
from  one  side  to  another. 

The  next  night  was  beautiful  and  moonlight, 
but  with  a  heavy  sea,  as  the  sailors  called  it.  I 
went  on  deck  to  see  the  waves  and  as  I  stood 
looking  over  the  stern  watching  the  heaving  of 
the  ocean,  I  was  startled  by  some  one  putting 
their  arms  around  my  waist  and  saying: 

"Well,  my  little  one,  I  have  caught  you  alone 
at  last.  The  stewardess  tells  me  that  you  were 
very  much  frightened  at  the  gale.  I  could  not 
be  with  you,  but  you  could  not  be  hurt  while  I 
am  near,  for  I  would  give  my  life  to  save  yours  if 
it  had  to  be.  I  never  saw  a  woman  that  I 
would  care  to  call  a  wife  till  I  saw  you.  We 
sailors  are  not  accustomed  to  the  fine  ways  of 
the  dandies  on  shore,  but  what  we  say  we  mean, 
and  all  I  have  to  give  is  a  true,  loving  heart  and 
a  strong  manly  body  to  protect  you.  Nay, 
turn  not  away  from  me,  for  by  the  stars  above  I 
will  have  you,  my  fairy,  my  queen;  my  wife  you 
must  be,  for  I  have  dreamed  of  you  years  ago. 
Now,  I  have  found  you,  my  love,  my  all." 

I  said:  "How  long  will  we  be  on  the  water? 
When  we  get  to  shore  you  will  go  back  in  the 
ship  and  I  will  go  to  Manchester,  to  my  people, 
and  that  will  be  the  end." 

"Nay,  not  so;  I  have  signed  a  contract  to  take 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  25 

the  ship  back  to  New  York,  then  I  will  come  and 
claim  you." 

I  said:  "When  I  tell  you  that  I  have  loved 
another,  you  would  not  want  me."  He  replied, 
"I  do  not  care  how  many  you  have  loved;  you 
will  love  me  for  my  kindness  to  you." 

I  told  him  all  about  Carl.  He  was  very  much  hurt 
that  a  man  would  be  such  a  brute  as  to  strike  a 
defenseless  girl,  whom  he  had  called  his  love. 
He  made  no  secret  of  his  affection  for  me  after 
that  night.  I  did  not  know  what  to  think  about 
it.  He  was  fifteen  years  older  than  I,  and  was 
the  second  son  of  Colonel  Jack,  who  was  a  West 
Point  cadet  in  his  young  days,  but  had  prac 
ticed  law  for  many  years.  He  was  a  native  of 
Philadelphia.  His  first  wife,  the  mother  of 
Charles,  was  born  in  Carlisle,  Pa.,  so  they  were 
all  Americans  from  away  back.  The  family 
removed  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  the  early  days 
and  they  were  highly  respected. 

We  were  five  weeks  on  the  voyage  and  as  we 
began  to  get  near  land  my  Yankee  lover  grew 
more  impatient  for  me  to  say  when  I  would  be 
his.  I  admired  him,  for  he  was  so  frank  and 
manly,  but  I  had  not  the  same  love  for  him  I 
had  for  Carl.  I  told  him  I  wanted  to  think 
about  it ;  that  I  liked  him,  but  could  not  say  that 
I  loved  him,  and  that  if  he  took  me  he  would 
have  to  win  love  from  me,  but  I  would  be  true 
and  do  the  best  I  could  to  make  life  pleasant 
and  happy. 

When  we  got  to  Liverpool  dear  old  Nursey 
was  there  to  meet  me.  Mr.  Jack  was  dressed 
up  to  see  me  safely  on  the  train,  so  I  introduced 


26  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

him  to  Nursey  and  she  took  a  great  liking  to 
him.  He  saw  us  off  on  our  way  to  Manchester. 
Then  I  told  Nursey  all  about  him,  and  she  prom 
ised  not  to  say  a  word  to  any  of  the  family 
about  it.  The  ship  had  been  longer  getting 
her  cargo  on  board  than  was  expected,  so  Mr. 
Jack  came  to  see  me  on  the  Sunday  before  leav 
ing  and  I  was  more  than  glad  to  see  him,  since 
Nursey  had  liked  him  so  well,  so  I  told  him  he 
would  have  to  love  Nursey,  too.  We  went  to 
Bellevue  Gardens  and  strolled  about  until  train 
time.  Then  he  said:  "I  will  be  here  for  you 
about  the  5th  of  September,  and  after  we  are 
married  I  will  take  you  to  my  father's  home  till 
we  see  what  we  will  do." 

So  he  bade  me  farewell  and  was  soon  out  of 
sight,  the  train  starting  as  his  feet  were  on  the 
steps. 

We  were  not  long  in  Manchester,  but  went  to 
the  old  home  in  Nottingham,  where  I  had  a  very 
merry  summer,  only  for  Carl  coming  and  writing 
his  pleading,  pitiful  letters  for  me  to  forgive  him 
and  let  him  come  and  see  me  as  of  old. 

I  was  still  as  confiding  as  I  was  years  before, 
and  would  sit  on  Nursey's  lap  and  put  my  head 
on  her  bosom  and  tell  her  all,  reading  Carl's 
letters  to  her.  She  would  not  chide  me,  but 
sympathized  with  me.  She  said: 

"Just  compare  the  truest  one,  a  noble  God 
like  man,  the  other  a  sneaking  coward,  and  there 
is  no  greater  happiness  on  this  earth  than  true 
love  in  a  cottage,  not  fretting  about  notes  or 
losses,  but  peace  and  confidence  and  happiness 
in  each  other.  No,  my  child,  I  feel  safe  in  giving 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  27 

you  to  this  sailor,  for  truth  is  written  in  his  face 
and  he  fairly  worships  thee." 

I  said:  "Yes,  and  I  promised  him  I  would  be 
true  to  him,  and  so  I  will.  I  am  glad  I  told  him 
all  about  Carl,  for  I  would  have  felt  guilty  of 
deception  if  I  had  not  told  him  all  about  it." 

It  was  getting  late,  so  we  went  to  bed.  I 
had  not  been  long  in  bed  when  under  my  win 
dows  there  was  a  beautiful  sound  of  music  and 
soft  voices  singing.  They  sang  two  or  three 
songs,  then  suddenly  all  was  changed,  for 
Nursey  had  not  retired  and  had  caught  sight  of 
Carl  and  his  companions,  so  she  quietly  went 
down  the  kitchen  stairs  and  let  "Nep,"  the  big 
Newfoundland,  loose.  Some  of  them  struck 
at  him  with  their  banjos,  which  made  him 
savage,  and  he  sprang  upon  them,  knocking  two 
of  them  down  and  going  after  the  other;  such 
yells  and  scrambling  to  get  away  was  a  sight  to 
see.  The  next  morning  the  lawn  was  strewn 
with  pieces  of  coat-tails,  neckties  and  pieces 
of  hats,  so  between  Nursey  and  "Nep,"  I  got  no 
more  love-letters  and  no  more  serenades. 

I  had  received  letters  from  my  Yankee  sweet 
heart,  in  which  he  informed  me  that  he  had  told 
his  father  all  about  his  plans.  The  father  was 
glad  that  his  favorite  son  had  confided  in  him, 
and  was  heart  and  soul  with  him  in  making  ar 
rangements  for  my  reception.  He  wrote  me  to 
be  sure  and  be  ready,  as  that  trip  would  be  his 
last,  expecting  there  would  soon  be  war,  as  there 
was  a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction  with  the 
South. 

On  the  9th  of  September,  1860,  the  "Foster" 


28  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

arrived  at  Liverpool.  Nursey  and  I  went  to 
Liverpool  on  the  15th.  Mr.  Jack  met  us  and 
took  us  to  Birkenhead,  where  he  had  applied 
for  a  special  marriage  license.  He  did  not  get 
his  until  the  18th,  and  at  9  o'clock  of  the 
morning  of  the  19th  we  were  made  husband  and 
wife,  and  he  seemed  to  be  the  proudest  and 
happiest  man  on  earth.  Nursey  went  back  that 
night,  as  she  had  been  away  longer  than  she  had 
expected. 

My  Yankee  husband  took  passage  for  me  on 
the  steamer  "City  of  Cork,"  as  he  had  to  take  the 
"Foster"  back  to  New  York,  so  I  bid  farewell  to 
my  dear  old  England  and  all  my  kind  friends 
and  kinsmen  and  left  for  my  new  home  and  new 
life  in  America. 

When  I  arrived  in  New  York,  Col.  C.  J.  Jack 
met  the  ship  to  welcome  me  and  took  me  in  a 
carriage  to  his  home  in  Brooklyn,  where  he 
had  a  young  wife  with  two  boys  and  a  baby. 
She  was  about  thirty  years  old  and  he  was  over 
seventy,  which  seemed  strange  to  me.  His 
house  had  a  large  brown  stone  front  and  was 
beautifully  furnished. 

They  had  arranged  for  a  number  of  enter 
tainments,  so  they  set  in  with  parties  and  re 
ceptions.  I  looked  on  and  thought  it  was  a 
strange  lot  of  mixed  people.  The  most  of  them 
wore  diamonds  and  dressed  in  bad  taste,  and 
amongst  them  was  a  family  who  had  made  a 
large  fortune  in  real  estate.  They  had  a  house 
like  a  palace  and  wanted  to  outdo  everyone. 
They  gave  a  large  party  and  had  the  most  ex 
pensive  things  that  money  could  buy.  They 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  29 

had  baskets  of  Piper  Heidsieck  champagne  and 
had  the  finest  cut  glass  decanters  they  could  get. 
Madame  put  the  champagne  in  the  decanters, 
and  when  it  was  passed  around,  of  course,  it 
was  flat  and  spoiled.  I  noticed  many  things 
were  very  much  out  of  place,  and  I  pitied  the 
poor  foolish  people  who  exposed  their  own 
ignorance  in  such  a  manner. 

My  husband  had  now  arrived  home  and  C.  H. 
Marshall,  the  owner  of  the  Black  Ball  Line,  had 
given  him  a  ship  to  take  charge  of,  so  he  was 
made  a  captain  the  first  voyage  after  we  were 
married. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  elected  President  and 
there  was  great  excitement  and  great  confusion, 
and  the  Colonel  was  expecting  to  be  sent  as 
minister  to  Turkey. 

The  night  before  my  captain  was  to  sail  there 
was  beautiful  moonlight.  After  supper  we 
went  out  for  a  walk  and  when  we  got  out  of  the 
thick  settlement  my  captain  said: 

1  'My  beautiful  wife,  I  feel  that  I  shall  not 
make  many  voyages  in  my  new  ship,  and  that 
I  shall  be  needed  to  help  my  country,  for  we 
surely  will  have  war  with  the  South." 

I  replied,  "You  surely  would  not  leave  and 
go  to  death  without  me  being  near  you." 

"If  any  traitor  dares  to  try  to  tear  down  those 
glorious  stars  and  stripes  as  long  as  I  have  a 
hand  and  arm  left  on  my  body  I  will  strike  back 
at  him,"  was  his  answer. 

We  had  stopped  walking  and  stood  under  a 
tree,  and  as  he  said  this  he  raised  his  hand  to 
the  sky,  and  as  Nursey  had  said,  he  looked  the 


30  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

Godlike  man,  for  he  looked  up  to  the  stars  and 
said  this  to  himself: 

"Yes,  my  next  voyage  will  be  to  protect  my 
country,  so  try,  my  darling,  to  give  me  courage 
to  leave  you,  for  that  is  all  I  fear.  Since  I  have 
had  you  the  world  seems  to  have  changed.  I 
was  a  fast  dare-devil  before  I  met  you,  my 
loved  one.  Now  I  think  of  nothing  but  of  how 
to  make  you  happier,  and  when  I  come  home 
and  meet  you  with  your  smiles  and  open  arms, 
God  only  knows  what  a  heaven  my  home  is. 
I  think  if  anything  was  to  happen  to  you  and 
you  were  taken  from  me,  I  would  not  be  long 
after  you,  for  I  could  not  bear  to  face  the  cold 
world  with  no  one  to  welcome  me  or  to  care 
whether  I  came  or  went,  excepting  for  what 
they  could  get  out  of  me.  My  darling,  you 
must  help  me,  for  the  only  sorrow  that  I  could 
feel  would  be  of  leaving  you." 

We  had  continued  our  walk  and  by  this  time 
were  at  our  door  and  said  no  more.  The  next 
morning  he  was  gone  with  his  new  ship  and  I 
felt  very  sad  and  lonely,  for  something  in  his 
voice  and  manner  seemed  to  leave  me  with  a 
fear. 

A  few  days  after  he  had  gone  I  received  a 
letter  from  Nursey,  in  which  she  said  my  mother 
was  getting  ready  to  go  to  New  Zealand,  as  her 
three  boys  had  been  sent  there  in  Her  Majesty's 
navy  and  there  was  a  number  of  officers'  wives 
and  families  going.  My  mother  was  sixty- two 
years  old,  but  did  not  look  over  forty,  and  was 
extremely  youthful  in  her  manner.  As  I  stood 
with  the  letter  in  my  hand  the  tears  rolled  down 
my  cheeks  and  I  said: 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  31 

" Farewell,  dear  mother,  we  shall  never  meet 
again  on  this  earth,  and  I  pray  to  all  the  powers 
in  heaven  to  protect  you  and  make  you  happy 
in  your  old  age.  You  are  on  one  side  of  this 
globe  and  your  baby  girl  is  on  the  other." 

I  felt  very  lonely  and  sad.  Christmas  was 
here  and  the  children  made  merry,  but  many  of 
the  thoughtful  people  wore  sad  faces,  as  they 
knew  not  what  the  year  '61  would  bring.  It 
was  a  very  severe  winter  and  many  ships  were 
lost.  I  was  very  uneasy,  as  my  captain  was 
behind  the  time  due  and  I  could  get  no  tidings 
of  him.  I  would  lie  tossing  half  of  the  night 
and  calling  on  him  just  as  though  he  could  hear 
me. 

One  morning  a  telegram  came  saying  his  ship 
was  off  Sandy  Hook  and  I  felt  as  though  a  great 
weight  had  been  lifted  from  me.  He  did  not 
come  until  the  next  day,  for  the  fog  was  so  thick 
that  the  pilot  would  not  take  the  ship  to  dock. 

When  he  came  he  was  sick  and  worn  out  with 
such  a  rough  voyage.  He  had  lost  two  men, 
whc  had  fallen  from  the  rigging  overboard. 
When  he  had  been  home  about  a  week,  on  com 
ing  home  one  day  he  said:  "I  have  resigned  and 
turned  my  ship  over  to  the  owners.  I  am  going 
to  take  an  examination  in  a  few  days  for  a 
captain's  certificate,  so  that  I  can  take  a  cap 
tain's  command  in  the  navy,  and  hence  I 
have  put  in  my  application.  Our  government 
has  a  very  poor  navy.  They  can  get  an  army 
in  a  hurry,  but  not  a  navy,  and  they  are  getting 
ready  on  the  quiet.  They  are  enlisting  all  the 
men  they  can  get,  but  as  to  the  navy  it  takes 


32  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

time  to  make  seamen,  and  land  lubbers    would 
be  only  in  the  way." 

I  made  answer:  "Well,  my  Yankee  sweet 
heart,  so  you  are  going  to  leave  me,  and  what 
will  I  do  while  you  are  gone?  I  do  not  like  your 
father's  wife,  for  she  is  very  meddling  and  rude, 
and  anything  but  a  lady." 

"She  is  not  a  lady,"  he  replied;  "she  was  our 
servant  girl,  but  she  got  around  my  father  and 
induced  him  to  marry  her.  That  is  why  my 
sisters  do  not  come  to  the  house." 

He  had  three  sisters,  Harriet,  Margaret  and 
Lenora.  Margaret  was  the  most  beautiful, 
queenly-looking  woman  I  had  ever  seen,  with  a 
heart  as  cold  as  ice.  Harriet  was  the  wife  of 
Major  Snively,  a  beautiful  character,  and  Le 
nora  was  single.  She  had  gone  with  some 
friends  on  a  trip  to  Paris,  so  I  had  not  seen  her. 

"We  will  find  a  nice  family  out  of  town  that 
I  can  board  with,"  I  said;  "then  I  will  be  where 
it  is  cool  for  the  summer." 

The  next  day  he  took  his  examination  and 
passed,  receiving  his  commission  in  the  navy 
later  on.  He  had  to  get  his  uniform  made  to 
order,  and  all  was  life  and  excitement  in  get 
ting  everything  ready,  for  he  did  not  know 
where  he  was  going  or  what  vessel  he  would 
get.  It  was  not  long  before  the  country  was  in 
arms,  and  it  was  wonderful  where  the  soldiers 
came  from  in  such  a  short  time.  The  South 
had  fired  on  Fort  Sumter  and  war  was  declared. 

Such  excitement!  It  seemed  as  though  every 
one  was  crazy  to  go  to  war.  Regiment  after 
regiment  was  raised;  the  stores  were  as  busy 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  33 

as  they  could  be ;  the  tailors  weer  offering  larger 
wages  and  working  night  and  day,  and  it  was  a 
common  saying  on  the  street:  " We're  spoiling 
for  a  fight  and  will  wipe  them  off  the  face  of  the 
earth  in  six  weeks."  They  little  knew  the 
temper  and  mettle  of  the  South. 

I  was  going  to  see  a  friend  that  lived  out  of 
town,  a  little  way  from  the  very  trees  where  my 
captain  swore  that  he  would  fight  as  long  as  he 
had  an  arm  to  fight  with,  and  as  I  looked  at  the 
place  I  saw  a  man  sitting  under  the  same  tree 
in  tears. 

I  went  up  to  him  and  said:  "How  do  you  do, 
friend?"  He  raised  his  head  and  looking  up 
at  me  answered:  "I  have  shed  the  most  bitter 
tears  this  morning  that  I  ever  did  in  my  life. 
Only  to  think  that  our  flag  has  been  insulted 
and  torn  down  and  my  gray  beard  and  head 
holds  me  back  from  joining  the  troops  and  re 
senting  the  insult." 

"Fret  not,  for  there  are  plenty  of  young  men 
who  will  resent  it,"  I  answered.  "All  I  have  on 
earth  is  going.  My  husband  put  on  his  uniform 
on  Sunday  and  is  ready  and  awaiting  orders." 

The  man  replied:  "Yes,  and  all  I  have  I  have 
given  this  morning,"  and  he  wept  again.  "I 
have  two  boys ;  one  was  old  enough  and  he  en 
listed,  but  the  other  was  only  18,  and  I  went  and 
signed  for  him  to  go  in  the  navy,  as  that  was  his 
wish.  Then  I  came  out  to  this  place  to  give  vent 
to  my  sorrow,  for  I  wanted  to  go,  but  they  say 
I  am  too  old.  God  knows  I  love  my  boys,  but 
I  love  my  country  too,  and  they  may  come  back 
all  sound.  Then  I  will  have  served  God  and 


34  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

country,  too.  But  I  will  be  the  same  as  you, 
my  lass ;  when  my  boys  are  gone  I  shall  be  alone, 
for  their  mother  died  four  months  ago.  All  my 
troubles  have  come  at  once." 

"Cheer  up  and  we  will  all  pray  that  it  will  soon 
be  settled,"!  answered.  His  name,  I  found, 
was  George  Osborne. 

I  made  but  a  short  visit  to  my  friend  and  re 
turned  home  to  find  my  captain  waiting  for  me, 
and  he  said :  "Well,  I  have  got  my  papers  to  take 
charge  of  the  'Maria  Carleton'  in  the  bomb 
mortar  flotilla  of  Admiral  Farragut's  fleet. 
Commodore  Porter  is  in  command,  but  we  do 
not  know  where  we  are  going,  as  we  sail  with 
sealed  orders.  Now,  my  darling,  I  shall  soon 
have  to  leave  you  and  it  unmans  me  when  I 
think  of  it.  I  was  proud  of  my  commission  and 
went  on  board  to  give  orders,  but  when  I  went 
into  the  cabin  such  a  lonely  feeling  came  over 
me.  I  took  your  portrait  from  my  breast  pocket 
and  kissed  it  and  then  wept  the  bitterest  tears  I 
have  ever  wept  in  my  life.  Nay,  my  darling, 
the  enemy's  guns  have  no  terror  for  me,  but 
leaving  one  so  young  and  fair,  and  in  a  foreign 
country  alone  and  unprotected,  breaks  my  heart 
and  unmans  me." 

I  threw  my  arms  around  his  neck  and  said: 
"Come,  my  Yankee  sweetheart,  this  will  not  do, 
for  it  seems  to  be  a  day  of  tears.  I  went  to  see 
a  friend  and  saw  a  man  weeping  because  he  was 
too  old  to  go  to  the  war,  and  when  I  came  to  my 
friend's  house  I  found  them  all  in  tears  over  the 
only  son  who  had  enlisted  along  with  my  friend's 
two  brothers.  Then  I  come  home  and  find  that 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  35 

my  brave  husband  has  been  in  tears.  The 
South  has  surely  sent  her  arrows  straight  home 
to  us,  for  old  and  young  seem  to  be  grieved,  but 
when  you  are  gone  from  me  I  will  talk  to  you  as 
I  do  now  and  pray  that  you  will  come  back  to  me 
safe  and  sound.  But  if  you  should  fall  I  will  try 
and  get  your  body  and  lay  it  where  I  can  come 
to  you  when  life  is  ended,  and  I  will  call  to  your 
spirit  to  come  and  comfort  me  when  I  am  lonely 
and  in  sorrow,  and  grief.  So  cheer  up,  for  we 
will  not  be  separated,  either  in  life  or  death/* 

"Oh,  my  darling,  if  I  fall  and  God  will  let  my 
spirit  come  to  you  I  will  be  with  you,  never  fear," 
was  his  reply. 

The  next  morning  the  First  regiment  left 
Brooklyn  and  it  seemed  as  though  everybody, 
old  and  young,  had  turned  out  to  see  them  start. 
Every  window  was  crowded  and  flags  floated 
everywhere.  The  military  bands  were  playing 
and  thousands  were  in  tears.  The  soldier  boys 
with  their  new  uniforms  were  a  sight  never  to 
be  forgotten. 

The  captain  and  I  were  standing  on  the  street 
looking  on  when  a  soldier  came  up  to  him  and 
grasping  his  hand  said:  "Well,  my  boy,  we  did 
not  think  that  we  would  have  to  wear  the  uni 
form  so  soon."  Then  he  turned  and  looking  at 
me  said:  "My  God,  what  does  this  mean?" 

"This  is  my  wife,"  replied  the  captain,  "and 
it  hurts  me  to  have  to  leave  her  so  soon."  When 
I  took  a  second  look  at  the  man  I  knew  him  to 
be  the  doctor  on  the  "Foster,"  but  he  did  not 
know  that  we  were  married.  He  was  the  doctor 
of  the  first  regiment  to  leave.  He  fell  into  the 
ranks  and  was  soon  lost  to  sight  in  the  crowd. 


36  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 


CHAPTER  III. 

TT  was  not  many  days  later  that  the  bomb 
•••  flotilla  was  ordered  into  commission  and 
all  wasrush  and  bustle.  Pro  visions,  guns  and  am 
munition  were  put  aboard  and  soon  the  men  and  of 
ficers  were  all  ready  and  waiting  for  orders .  1 1  took 
ten  days  after  the  fleet  was  ordered  into  com 
mission  until  it  was  ready,  and  everyone  worked 
with  a  will.  Half  of  the  fleet  had  slipped  out 
under  sealed  orders,  for  they  did  not  want  the 
enemy  to  know  of  their  movements.  My  cap 
tain  was  going  out  when  the  tide  was  favorable, 
so  the  colonel  and  I  went  to  the  ship  to  say 
good-by. 

As  I  stood  on  the  deck  I  noticed  a  tall  youth 
looking  as  pale  as  death  and  an  old  man  with 
one  arm  around  his  neck  and  his  hand  clasping 
the  youth's  in  farewell.  When  the  old  man 
turned  to  go  I  saw  it  was  Mr.  Osborne,  so  I  went 
up  to  him  and  said: 

"This  is  strange  your  boy  should  be  one  of  my 
husband's  crew."  As  I  was  talking  to  him  the 
first  lieutenant  came  up  and  I  said  to  him:  "I 
hope  you  will  do  me  a  favor.  Do  not  let  the 
sailors  abuse  this  boy,  and  see  that  no  harm 
comes  to  him." 

"Ay,  ay;  I  will  be  glad  to  do  a  favor  for  our 
captain's  lady,  and  this  lad  is  our  cabin  boy." 

Both  the  boy  and  his  father  were  spellbound 
with  surprise  and  the  captain  came  to  see  what 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  37 

I  was  doing.  The  old  man  was  choking  with 
tears  and  could  not  speak,  but  went  on  shore 
and  never  once  turned  to  look  back. 

I  made  merry  as  best  I  could,  but  the  colonel 
when  he  said  "Good-by,  my  boy,"  broke  down 
and  sobbed  as  though  his  heart  would  break, 
and  it  was  some  time  before  we  could  quiet  him. 
Then  my  captain  took  me  in  his  arms  and 
kissed  me.  He  was  very  pale,  but  said  nothing 
for  he  could  not  trust  himself  to  speak  and  I 
wanted  to  be  brave  so  as  not  to  worry  him. 
All  I  could  say  was:  "You  will  come  back  soon 
and  I  will  be  waiting  for  you,  my  Yankee  hus 
band.  Be  brave  and  true  till  we  meet  again." 

We  turned  and  were  going  down  the  plank 
when  the  boatswain  came  and  piped  us  over 
as  a  mark  of  honor  such  as  is  given  to  disting 
uished  people  who  visit  a  man-of-war.  The 
carriage  that  brought  us  was  waiting  on  the 
pier,  and  as  my  captain  put  me  in  first  and 
helped  his  father,  he  choked  back  the  tears  that 
wanted  to  flow.  As  the  carriage  started  he 
stood  with  his  hat  raised  like  a  statue,  and 
neither  the  colonel  nor  I  said  a  word,  for  we 
were  too  full  of  grief. 

I  had  kept  up  so  as  not  to  worry  my  captain, 
but  as  soon  as  I  got  all  alone  in  my  room  I  had 
a  fit  of  weeping  so  that  I  thought  my  heart 
would  break.  All  I  did  was  to  moan  and  sigh 
"He  is  gone;  he  is  gone,"  and  pray  that  God 
would  bring  him  back  safely. 

A  few  weeks  after  the  captain  was  gone  I 
moved  to  Ravenswood,  on  the  banks  of  the 
East  River,  and  every  morning  as  the  troops 


38  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

went  by  I  would  wave  my  handkerchief  at  them 
and  they  would  wave  their  caps  and  shout 
"Hurrah!"  as  though  they  were  glad  of  a  chance 
to  give  vent  to  their  feelings  after  leaving  their 
loved  ones.  I  was  patiently  waiting  for  tidings 
of  the  fleet,  for  it  had  been  gone  some  weeks 
when  the  papers  said  it  was  anchored  near  New 
Orleans,  but  no  one  knew  why  no  attack  was 
made  on  the  forts.  A  few  days  after  I  got  a 
letter  saying  that  the  spies  had  found  out  that 
the  rebels  had  put  chains  with  torpedoes  on 
them  across  the  river  from  fort  to  fort  so  that 
as  soon  as  our  vessels  struck  them  they  would 
be  blown  to  pieces.  That  was  the  cause  of  the 
delay  and  our  fleet  did  not  know  what  to  do. 

Then  my  captain  went  to  the  flagship  to  see 
Admiral  Porter,  who  had  charge  of  the  fleet, 
and  said:  "Give  me  a  written  order  to  go  through 
the  fleet  and  pick  the  men  I  want,  and  I  will  go 
under  the  forts  and  cut  the  chains,  as  it  is  the 
dark  of  the  moon  and  there  is  no  time  to  lose." 

"This  is  a  pretty  risky  business,"  said  the 
commodore, "but  all  war  is  risky,  and  I  will  only 
be  too  glad  to  give  you  the  order,  but  be  sure 
and  throw  up  your  signal  "All's  well"  if  you  are 
successful." 

My  captain  got  the  men  he  wanted  and  took 
four  long  boats  and  all  the  tools  necessary,  and 
when  he  was  about  to  start  the  cabin  boy 
jumped  into  the  captain's  boat  and  said:  "If 
you  are  going  to  your  death,  I  will  go,  too,  for 
I  will  not  leave  you." 

So  they  started,  and  all  his  men  were  desper 
adoes  from  the  Five  Points  of  New  York  City, 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  39 

who  would  as  soon  kill  as  eat.  They  all  swore 
by  the  captain  to  fight  to  the  death  and  to  kill 
the  first  man  who  showed  cowardice.  All 
night  long  they  worked  like  lions,  and  the  cap 
tain  gave  them  whisky  to  keep  them  up.  Just 
as  the  day  broke — the  last  chain  was  dropped 
in  the  river  and  they  had  to  row  for  dear  life 
to  get  out  of  range  of  the  guns  from  the  fort. 

They  were  seen  by  the  rebels,  who  watched 
them  through  their  glasses,  and  opened  fire. 
My  captain  ordered  the  signal  " All's  well"  run 
up  and  then  our  big  guns  began  to  bombard  the 
forts.  On  getting  back  to  his  vessel  my  captain 
ordered  the  big  mortar  gun  fired,  and  before 
the  smoke  had  cleared  away  a  ball  from  the 
fort  struck  the  "Carleton"  and  passed  through 
her  powder  magazine  without  exploding,  but 
it  threw  my  captain  up  in  the  air.  He  fell  on 
his  back  on  the  deck  and  was  stunned  for  a 
short  time.  When  he  came  to,  the  cabin  boy 
was  wiping  the  blood  from  his  mouth  and  the 
ship  was  in  the  thick  of  the  fight. 

It  was  certain  the  "Carleton"  was  sinking, 
so  my  captain  gave  orders  to  spike  the  guns  and 
lower  the  boats.  They  got  as  much  out  of  the 
ship  as  they  could,  and  when  the  last  boatload 
and  the  men  had  gone  to  the  flagships  my  cap 
tain,  the  first  lieutenant,  the  cabin  boy  and  two 
sailors  were  forced  to  jump  into  the  water  and 
swim  for  dear  life  just  as  the  ship  began  to 
sink.  When  they  got  out  of  danger  they 
floated  until  the  boats  came  and  picked  them 
up,  taking  them  to  the  flagship. 

When  they  got  on  board  Commodore  Porter 


40  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

ordered  my  captain  to  take  the  place  of  the 
first  lieutenant,  who  was  killed,  and  the  doctor 
and  ten  men  were  lying  dead  with  him.  Cap 
tain  Jack  was  hurt  internally  and  was  drenched 
to  the  skin,  but  there  was  no  time  to  change, 
as  they  were  under  a  heavy  fire  all  the  time. 
The  forts  were  firing  as  hard  as  they  could  and 
the  fleet  was  getting  nearer  all  the  time,  bom 
barding  them  with  the  fearful  mortars  and  other 
big  guns.  Ben  Butler  was  bombarding  them 
from  the  shore  and  stealing  all  their  silver 
spoons  that  he  could  get  hold  of,  so  you  can 
imagine  what  a  plight  they  were  in.  When  the 
fleet  finally  got  past  the  forts  and  into  New 
Orleans  my  captain  fell  on  the  deck.  He  could 
not  stand  on  his  feet  and  the  blood  was  pouring 
from  his  mouth.  They  had  to  wait  until  they 
could  get  a  doctor,  as  many  of  the  men  were 
wounded  and  hurt  and  the  doctors  were  very 
busy.  The  cabin  boy  stayed  with  him  and  did 
all  he  could  to  stanch  the  blood,  bringing  brandy 
from  the  officers'  quarters.  He  bathed  his  fore 
head  and  was  as  gentle  as  though  he  were  a  girl. 

When  the  doctor  examined  him  he  declared 
that  his  heart  was  hurt  and  that  he  never  would 
be  able  to  go  under  heavy  fire  again.  He  said 
my  captain  should  not  have  stayed  on  deck  as 
long  as  he  did,  and  that  it  was  a  miracle  he  was 
not  killed  or  had  fallen  dead  from  exhaustion. 

The  papers  said  that  the  "Carle ton"  had  been 
lost  with  all  on  board,  so  I  went  to  Brooklyn 
and  found  the  poor  old  colonel  nearly  crazy  with 
grief.  I  did  not  know  at  that  time  what  had 
happened,  and  was  as  much  shocked  as  the  rest 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  41 

of  them,  but  something  seemed  to  say  to  me 
that  I  should  see  him  again.  I  stayed  at  the 
Colonel's  house  that  night,  and  such  a  night  as 
I  put  in.  The  next  morning  I  looked  as  though 
I  had  seen  a  ghost,  but  as  soon  as  we  got  a 
paper  we  found  it  was  full  of  the  battle  of  New 
Orleans,  and  that  it  was  not  true  that  the 
"Carleton"  was  lost  with  all  hands.  The  ship 
was  at  the  bottom,  but  not  the  men,  so  we  had 
our  fit  for  nothing. 

I  did  not  like  boarding,  so  I  took  a  pretty 
cottage  at  New  Rochelle  and  furnished  it  my 
self,  so  that  when  my  captain  came  home  he 
would  have  a  home  of  his  own.  But  months 
wore  away  and  he  did  not  come.  I  had  a  very 
good  middle-aged  Scotch  woman  living  with  me, 
and  as  I  was  expecting  to  become  a  mother  I 
wanted  my  husband  with  me  at  such  a  time. 
Alas!  that  six  weeks  they  were  wiping  out  the 
South  was  the  longest  I  ever  saw. 

I  gave  birth  to  a  big  baby  girl  and  did  not 
seem  to  recover  from  the  effects  for  a  long  time 
after.  I  was  just  beginning  to  get  around 
again  and  the  weather  was  very  cold  when  I 
got  a  telegram  to  come  to  Washington,  as  he 
was  there.  My  captain  had  taken  charge  of  the 
ironclad  "Penobscot"  and  was  ordered  to  the 
blockade  of  Galveston. 

After  a  few  months  on  the  "Galveston," 
blockading,  the  Captain  was  ordered  to  Wil 
mington  blockade,  and  was  not  very  long  there 
when  he  captured  the  iron  clad  steamer '  'Kate," 
trying  to  run  the  blockade,  with  a  very  valua 
ble  cargo  on  board.  But  that  was  not  all;  there 


42  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

was  something  on  that  steamer  of  a  personal 
nature  that  belonged  to  General  Robert  E.  Lee; 
it  did  not  have  anything  to  do  with  the  North 
or  the  South,  but  was  of  the  greatest  impor 
tance  to  Lee,  and  let  that  be  whatever  it  was, 
I  never  found  out,  but  through  that  powerful 
order,  Masonry,  they  buried  the  hatchet,  the 
Blue  and  the  Gray,  and  my  Captain  gave  Lee 
whatever  it  was,  then  Lee  took  a  diamond  ring 
off  his  little  finger  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
said,  "This  comes  next  to  my  blood.  If  I  fall 
strangers  will  get  it,  and  only  prize  it  for  its 
value,  but  I  feel  sure  your  wife  will  have  a 
higher  value  for  it,  seeing  the  date  on  the  ring 
is  1314,  over  590  years  old,  and  has  been  in 
many  strange  adventures."  Then  he  wrote  on 
a  bit  of  paper,  "Please  accept  from  a  gentleman 
and  an  officer  who  wears  the  Gray.  Robert  E. 
Lee." 

That  very  act  showed  the  character  of  the 
man  more  than  all  his  war  record,  for  it  showed 
a  great,  sensitive  soul  that  had  been  touched 
by  the  kind  act  of  a  brother  Mason;  and  more, 
it  showed  he  was  too  much  of  a  man  to  let 
such  kindness  go  without  showing  his  gratitude 
and  appreciation  and  awarding  something  that 
was  of  a  sacrifice  for  him  to  part  with.  I  have 
carefully  guarded  the  ring  and  will  give  it  to 
the  South  later  on. 

I  got  ready  and  went,  and  when  I  got  there 
the  captain  was  present  to  meet  me.  The  town 
was  full  of  soldiers,  the  mud  was  a  foot  deep, 
and  the  little  red  ants  in  the  hotel  and  all  over 
the  city  were  frightful.  I  went  to  the  Presi- 


THE    FATE   OF   A    FAIRY  43 

dent's  reception,  was  introduced  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lincoln,  and  shook  hands  with  both. 
Then  my  captain  came  home  and  said  he  had 
a  present  for  me.  There  were  two  dress  pat 
terns  of  black  watered  silk  for  Mrs.  Lincoln  and 
she  took  one  and  my  captain  took  the  other, 
paying  $125  for  it.  I  did  not  stay  long,  for  my 
captain  had  to  be  away  looking  after  the 
steamer,  so  we  went  back  to  New  Rochelle.  I 
had  only  been  home  a  few  days  when  a  carriage 
came  to  my  door  and  a  tall  man  greeted  me  and 
said: 

"Well,  Mrs.  Jack,  I  am  a  neighbor.  I  have 
just  got  my  orders  to  go  to  Hart's  Island  as 
sutler,  and  I  want  you  to  take  the  tug  boat 
which  leaves  every  day  at  the  foot  of  this 
street.  Two  tugs  leave,  one  for  Randall's  Isl 
and,  where  the  government  has  put  all  the  sick 
and  wounded,  and  the  other  to  Hart's  Island, 
where  the  recruits  are  drilled.  I  shall  be  the 
sutler  there,  and  I  was  the  shipping  master  that 
shipped  your  husband  when  he  ran  away  and 
went  to  sea  first.  My  name  is  Captain  Ben 
Buck,  and  I  would  like  for  you  to  come  to  our 
opening,  as  the  officers  and  their  wives  will  have 
a  dance  and  a  good  time.  The  military  band 
will  be  there,  so  do  come  next  Tuesday." 

So  I  took  the  nurse  and  baby  and  a  grip  with 
my  evening  dress  in  and  off  we  went.  It  was  a 
beautiful  day  and  when  our  tug  got  into  the 
middle  of  the  river  there  was  the  U.  S.  steamer 
with  the  recruits  and  bands  and  over  300  people 
on  board.  Mr.  Buck  was  at  the  pier  to  meet  me, 
as  he  had  made  arrangements  for  me  to  stay  over 


44  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

night,  and  our  tug  got  in  first.  As  the  U.  S. 
steamer  arrived  at  the  pier  the  band  struck  up 
"The  Girl  I  Left  Behind  Me,"  and  a  great  cheer 
went  up.  All  the  island  was  down  to  see  the 
newcomers  and  the  recruiting  sergeants  with 
the  fine  figures,  gay  uniforms  and  assumed  gay- 
ety  made  a  fine  appearance.  They  had  come 
with  the  rest  to  have  a  good  time. 

I  was  taken  to  the  officers'  quarters  and  intro 
duced  and  was  surprised  to  find  such  a  lot  of 
frivolous  women.  They  thought  of  nothing 
but  their  finery  and  who  would  be  admired  the 
most.  Never  a  thought  of  the  poor  boys  who 
were  leaving  their  loved  ones  and  might  never 
see  them  again.  After  I  had  placed  Nursey  and 
the  baby  in  good  quarters  I  went  around  to  see 
what  I  could  do,  and  it  made  my  heart  ache  to  see 
the  flower  of  our  country's  youth  going  to  be 
shot  down.  Some  of  them  I  thought  might 
come  back  with  only  part  of  their  bodies,  the 
other  part  shot  away.  Some  looked  so  sad, 
others  determined  and  some  had  a  forced  gayety. 

When  the  news  came  of  Andersonville  prison, 
how  they  were  torturing  our  boys  with  thumb 
screws,  turning  their  wounds  that  were  full  of 
maggots  to  the  blazing  sun,  and  how  they  were 
dying  of  thirst  and  pain,  my  soul  bled  for  our 
brave  and  noble  men.  I  wondered  how  many 
of  the  boys  I  had  talked  with  that  day  were  in 
the  grasp  of  the  demon  Captain  Waser — a 
demon  in  the  form  of  a  man. 

Night  came  and  I  went  to  the  ball,  which  was 
quite  a  gay  affair.  Young  officers  in  their  new 
uniforms  were  as  gay  as  they  ever  were  in  their 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  45 

lives,  and  I  got  more  than  my  share  of  attention. 
Several  officers  were  very  attentive,  but  my 
thoughts  were  on  the  poor  boys  who  were  out 
side,  some  of  them  looking  on  while  others 
seemed  to  shun  the  gayety  and  wish  to  get  as 
far  from  the  music  as  possible.  I  was  very  glad 
when  I  got  a  chance  to  go  to  bed  and  get  away 
from  such  a  lot  of  unfeeling  and  shallow-minded 
people. 

I  passed  the  time  the  next  day  looking  around, 
and  when  the  boat  came  in  I  was  glad  to  be 
on  my  way  home.  It  was  evening  when  the 
boat  got  to  the  pier,  and  as  we  landed  I  put  the 
baby  and  nurse  in  the  carriage  so  that  I  could 
walk.  I  sat  for  a  time  on  the  beach  watching 
the  tide  rolling  in,  when  I  was  startled  by  the 
moaning  and  crying  of  a  woman. 

I  sprang  to  my  feet  and  went  to  where  the 
sound  came  from  and  found  behind  a  large  rock 
a  poor  woman,  her  eyes  red  with  weeping.  I 
sat  down  beside  her  and  asid :  "Let  me  help  you, 
sister.  What  is  your  trouble.? 

"I  came  on  the  boat  from  Randall's  Island/* 
she  replied,  "where  my  husband  has  had  his  leg 
taken  off  today,  and  when  I  left  New  York  this 
morning  I  locked  my  three  little  children  in  the 
room,  telling  them  to  be  good,  for  I  was  going  to 
see  their  poor  papa  perhaps  for  the  last  time. 
When  I  was  on  the  boat  I  found  I  had  lost  my 
last  dollar,  and  as  the  fare  to  New  York  is  50 
cents  I  cannot  go  tonight,  but  I  will  start  and 
walk  soon.'* 

"I  will  give  you  a  dollar,"  I  said,  "and  if  you 
come  quickly  we  can  get  a  train  for  New  York." 


46  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

So  we  started  and  had  not  gone  far  when  a 
colored  man  came  along  with  a  cart,  so  I  stopped 
him  and  got  him  to  drive  us  as  fast  as  he  could 
to  the  depot,  where  we  arrived  just  in  time.  I 
put  that  poor  woman  on  the  train  and  she  left 
with  tears  and  prayers  for  the  beautiful  kind  lady 
who  had  sent  her  to  her  three  little  children,  and 
I  wandered  back  to  my  beautiful  little  cottage. 
I  offered  up  a  prayer  for  the  poor  distressed 
family  and  thanks  that  I  had  been  the  one  chosen 
to  give  comfort  to  such  great  affliction,  small  as 
it  was.  Kind  words  and  sympathy  often 
lighten  the  burden  of  a  breaking  heart,  so  let  us 
not  pass  any  of  them  by,  for  we  know  not  how 
soon  some  of  our  own  may  be  afflicted.  It  was 
brought  home  to  me  by  that  poor  woman. 

I  arose  early  the  next  morning  and  filled  a 
large  basket  full  of  all  kinds  of  vegetables  and 
fruit  and  went  to  Randall's  Island.  I  found  the 
man  Middleton,  as  that  was  the  name  of  the 
woman's  husband,  and  told  him  that  his  wife 
had  gotten  home  all  right,  then  I  opened  my 
basket  to  see  what  he  would  like,  and  he  took 
a  head  of  lettuce  and  ate  it  ravenously.  So  I 
gave  him  two  more  and  asked  him  if  there  was 
anything  more  he  wanted,  but  he  said  no.  I 
then  went  to  the  rest  of  the  wounded  in  the 
ward  and  it  did  me  good  to  see  the  poor  fellows 
eating  the  stuff  I  had  brought  them.  It  did 
not  take  me  long  to  find  out  that  they  were  crazy 
for  green  stuff,  and  after  that  I  would  go  two  or 
three  times  a  week  and  take  them  what  I  thought 
they  would  like  until  the  weather  began  to  get 
cold. 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  4? 

In  February  the  town  became  infested  with 
burglars,  who  even  went  so  far  as  to  rob  the 
church  one  night.  One  evening  after  putting 
Nettie  to  bed  I  was  at  the  top  of  the  stairs 
going  down  when  I  suddenly  turned  back  and 
got  my  revolver.  I  do  not  know  why  I  did  this, 
but  had  a  presentiment  that  all  was  not  as  it 
should  be.  I  went  downstairs  and  into  the 
dining  room.  The  door  entering  to  the  kitchen 
had  a  thumb  latch  on  the  kitchen  side  and  a 
bolt  on  the  dining  room  side  and  I  had  a  big 
cat  that  would  climb  up  and  open  the  thumb 
latch  with  its  paws  when  the  door  was  not 
bolted  on  the  inside.  I  sat  down  in  the  dining 
room  and  was  reading  a  book  very  much  inter 
ested  when  suddenly  the  latch  was  lifted.  It 
startled  me  for  an  instant,  but  I  thought  it  was 
the  cat  until  I  saw  Tommy  with  his  ears  up  like 
a  dog  and  all  attention.  I  turned  my  lamp 
down  and  got  my  gun  ready,  for  the  same  feel 
ing  was  within  me  that  I  felt  at  the  head  of  the 
stairs. 

I  soon  heard  the  latch  again  and  knew  that 
some  one  was  trying  to  gain  admittance.  I 
thought  of  the  gang  of  robbers  the  first  thing 
and  was  very  much  scared.  Then  the  feeling 
changed  to  one  of  determination,  so  I  got  up 
and  went  into  the  china  closet,  leaving  the 
door  ajar  that  I  might  see  all  that  transpired. 
I  had  not  long  to  wait,  for  they  soon  got  the 
door  open  and  two  men  with  crape  on  their 
faces  came  into  the  room.  One  went  towards 
the  sideboard  full  of  silver  and  glassware,  while 
the  other  made  for  the  parlor.  Both  had  their 


48  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

backs  to  me  and  I  pushed  the  door  farther 
open  and,  taking  deliberate  aim,  fired  at  the 
man  near  the  sideboard.  He  turned  and  ran 
for  the  door  and  I  fired  another  shot  which  sent 
the  other  man  flying  after  the  first.  They  ran 
up  the  street  with  me  after  them  firing  my  re 
volver  until  help  came  and  they  were  captured. 
A  shot  had  struck  one  of  the  men,  breaking  his 
shoulder.  They  were  locked  up  and  I  went 
home  accompanied  by  two  of  the  neighbors, 
who  were  afraid  to  let  me  go  home  alone. 

The  next  morning  it  was  discovered  that  one 
of  the  men  was  a  prominent  and  well  respected 
resident  of  the  town,  with  a  wife  and  family, 
and  when  the  officers  went  to  search  the  house 
they  told  the  wife  she  would  have  to  go  to  jail 
if  she  did  not  tell  where  the  things  her  husband 
had  stolen  were.  She  became  frightened  at  the 
thought  of  leaving  her  children  all  alone  and 
told  the  officers  the  things  were  under  the  floor 
upstairs,  but  that  they  would  have  to  move 
the  bureau.  When  they  did  this  they  found 
jewelry,  gold  and  silver  and  other  valuables, 
which  the  officers  took  to  a  large  dry  goods 
store  and  left  them  to  be  identified  by  their 
owners.  The  prisoners  were  tried  and  the  man 
I  had  shot,  the  well  respected  resident,  got 
seven  years  in  Sing  Sing,  but  the  other  got  only 
eighteen  months,  as  this  was  the  only  robbery 
they  could  connect  him  with. 

That  spring  the  people  of  New  York  were 
greatly  alarmed  over  the  danger  of  cholera,  and 
all  who  could  get  away  left  the  city  and  moved 
to  the  suburban  places,  so  that  they  could  go 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  49 

in  and  attend  to  their  business.  They  were 
looking  for  nice  places  such  as  New  Rochelle, 
and  there  was  no  difficulty  in  renting  a  nice 
country  place. 

In  the  meantime  my  sister  had  written  me 
saying  one  of  my  aunts  had  died,  leaving  us 
some  money  and  property,  and  asking  me  to 
go  back  to  England  and  look  after  it.  So  I  put 
a  notice  in  the  paper  that  the  house  and  grounds 
and  furniture  were  to  rent  for  $200  a  month, 
and  had  not  long  to  wait.  A  customer,  a  ship 
ping  merchant,  rented  the  house  for  one  year 
to  take  possession  the  first  of  May  following. 
I  got  busy  packing  and  my  little  girl  helped  me 
in  her  way,  wanting  to  pack  her  little  chickens 
and  two  little  kittens,  so  that  I  had  to  watch 
her,  and  left  the  lids  open  until  the  family 
moved  in  and  we  were  ready  to  start.  The 
family  moved  in  on  the  third  of  May  and  I  took 
passage  on  the  "City  of  Baltimore"  of  the  In- 
man  line  bound  for  Liverpool.  We  had  a  very 
fine  voyage  and  a  very  gay  set  of  passengers. 
They  had  a  banjo,  violin  and  guitar,  and  would 
go  on  deck  and  play  and  dance  in  the  moonlight 
until  bedtime. 

Among  the  passengers  was  an  old  gentleman 
who  was  very  sick  and  had  two  daughters.  I 
asked  him  if  I  could  do  anything  for  him  and 
he  said  he  had  never  been  sick  before,  but  could 
not  get  over  the  sea  sickness.  His  name  was 
Loveret  and  he  was  a  wealthy  merchant  from 
Paterson,  N.  J.,  who  was  taking  his  two  daugh 
ters  for  a  trip  to  Europe  after  they  had  gradu 
ated.  Two  nights  after  I  had  seen  him  on  deck 


50  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

his  daughter  came  running  into  my  stateroom 
saying  her  father  was  very  much  worse.  I  got 
up  and  dressed  hurriedly,  followed  her  to  her 
father's  stateroom,  where  I  found  he  was  dying. 
I  went  to  the  saloon  and  sent  the  steward  in 
search  of  the  doctor,  then  hurried  back  to  the 
sick  man.  When  the  doctor  came  he  saw  that 
Mr.  Loveret  was  dying  and  I  passed  the  night 
with  him,  the  end  coming  at  5  o'clock  in  the 
morning. 

They  were  going  to  bury  him  at  sea  at  sunset 
that  evening,  according  to  the  custom,  but  I 
went  to  the  captain  and  asked  him  to  wait  till 
we  got  to  Liverpool,  which  would  be  only  twc 
days.  The  captain  went  to  the  steward  and 
told  him  to  get  a  box  ready  to  put  the  body  in 
lock  the  stateroom  door  and  give  the  keys  to 
me.  I  went  to  the  room  every  night  and 
morning  to  see  that  all  was  right,  as  the  two 
daughters  were  as  helpless  as  children.  When 
we  landed  I  sent  a  telegram  to  his  brother  in 
Manchester,  who  came  and  took  charge  of  the 
remains. 

The  customs  house  officers  came  for  my  keys 
to  search  my  trunks  and  I  was  standing  with 
a  number  of  others  looking  on  when  they  opened 
my  large  trunk,  and  the  stench  that  arose  from 
it  was  awful.  When  they  began  to  remove 
the  things  they  found  three  dead  kittens  that 
my  little  Nettie  had  packed  up  unknown  to 
me  with  the  idea  of  taking  them  to  aunty. 
The  passengers  had  a  great  joke  at  my  expense, 
besides  which  it  was  an  April  fool  for  the  cus 
toms  officers,  who  had  expected  to  find  a  hu- 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  51 

man  corpse,  but  were  cheated  out  of  a  sensa 
tion.  When  I  got  to  Manchester  my  sister  and 
Nursey  caught  Nettie  and  said  that  she  was 
their  little  Nettie  over  and  over  and  that  she 
looked  just  like  I  did  when  I  was  her  age. 
They  almost  smothered  me  with  kisses  and  it 
seemed  more  like  home  than  ever  before.  My 
four  brothers  had  enlisted  in  the  navy  and  had 
gone  to  New  Zealand,  followed  by  my  mother, 
who  wanted  to  be  near  her  boys.  When  she 
got  there  the  officers  gave  a  ball  and  mother 
was  dancing  up  the  middle  and  down  the  sides 
like  a  young  girl,  and  that  was  the  last  we  had 
heard  from  them. 

We  soon  settled  my  aunt's  estate.  I  got 
$10,000  in  gold  and  some  very  valuable  oil 
paintings  and  silverware,  which  I  could  not 
conveniently  bring  with  me,  and  so  left  with 
my  sister  Liddy.  She  was  going  to  take  a  trip 
on  the  continent,  so  I  thought  I  would  go,  too, 
as  Nursey  said  she  would  keep  house  and  play 
mother  to  Nettie. 

So  we  started  and  went  to  Burton  and  from 
there  to  Boulogne,  then  to  Paris,  where  we  got 
a  very  handsome  suite  of  rooms  for  10  francs 
a  day  at  the  Hotel  de  Louvre,  having  our  meals 
where  we  wished.  The  next  morning  a  man  in 
a  swallow-tailed  coat  and  white  necktie  called 
at  my  room,  bowing  and  talking  in  French.  I 
could  not  understand  a  word  and  motioned  for 
him  to  go,  but  he  would  not,  and  I  became 
angry  and  threw  my  slipper  at  him,  which  he 
picked  up  and  hugged  to  his  breast.  He  bowed 
himself  out  and  I  went  to  Liddy's  room  and 


52  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

told  her,  but  she  laughed  heartily,  and  said 
it  was  the  garcon  or  waiter  wanting  to  know 
if  I  would  have  tea  or  coffee. 

I  went  out  and  sat  on  the  balustrade  to  watch 
the  flower  girls  and  listen  to  the  Italian  boys 
playing  their  music.     I  went  to  the  Tuillieries 
every  day  and  spent  an  hour  or  two  there  in 
the  picture  galleries  and  on  Sunday  went  to 
Versailles,   where  there  are   100  fountains  of 
different  designs  throwing  water  in  every  form 
imaginable.     The  Emperor  went  there  on  the 
first  Sunday  of  every  month  and  twelve  bands 
played  in  his  honor.     The  statuary  was  very 
fine  and  so  was  the  old  Emporor's  palace,  with 
its  vast  picture  galleries  and  old  relics  of  an 
tique  design,  including  breastplates,  battle  axes, 
spears  and  other  weapons  of  war.     We  went 
with  some  of  Liddy's  friends  to  the  Marbeal, 
a  place  where  men  and  women  were  dancing 
like  mad,  the  men  on  one  side  and  the  women 
on  the  other.     They  throw  themselves  into  all 
manner  of  shapes  and  the  dance  is  called  the 
"can-can."     We  went  to  the  Blondin  circus  one 
Sunday  and  were  surprised  to  see  priests  there 
with  black  robes  and  square  mortar-board  caps, 
as  they  seemed  to  be  out  of  place,  especially  on 
the  Sabbath  day.     I  counted  five  of  them. 

I  was  walking  down  the  Champ  de  Elysees 
and  had  passed  the  arch  of  triumph  when  we 
met  a  funeral  procession  at  which  everyone 
stopped  and  the  men  took  off  their  hats  and 
bowed  their  heads  and  all  the  carriages  and 
people  halted  until  the  procession  passed. 
There  were  about  twenty  priests,  four  of  them 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  53 

carrying  the  coffin  and  four  ahead,  the  others 
following  with  heads  uncovered,  which  showed 
that  the  French  have  a  great  respect  for  their 
dead.  After  dinner  I  took  a  stroll  along  the 
river  bank  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  all  the  old 
women  had  left  their  washing  for  Sunday  and 
that  seemed  to  be  their  washday.  The  beach 
was  filled  with  women  washing. 

We  left  France  and  went  to  Switzerland, 
where  we  met  a  party  of  English  ladies  who 
were  stopping  at  the  same  hotel.  They  said 
they  were  going  over  the  Alps  and  wished  us  to 
accompany  them,  so  we  agreed  to  do  so.  They 
were  twelve  in  number  and  we  went  on  donkeys. 
Here  I  saw  the  most  beautiful  scenery  that  I 
ever  beheld.  When  near  the  top  we  heard 
such  strange  sounds  that  seemed  as  though 
they  came  from  the  middle  of  the  earth,  but 
we  were  not  long  in  finding  out  the  real  cause. 
When  we  descended  on  the  other  side  we  came 
to  a  large  flat  piece  of  ground  covered  with  fig 
trees  with  their  large  leaves  outspread  and 
looking  like  umbrellas.  Under  one  of  these 
trees  were  three  little  boys  playing  different 
musical  instruments,  while  about  twenty  other 
boys  and  girls  formed  a  circle  about  them, 
dancing  opposite  to  each  other.  It  was  a 
beautiful  picture  and  no  play  in  a  theater  could 
be  half  so  nice.  The  girls  wore  short  dresses 
and  either  blue  or  red  stockings  and  very  low 
cut  shoes  tied  with  the  same  colored  ribbon  as 
their  stockings.  They  wore  black  aprons  braid 
ed  with  the  same  color.  Most  of  them  were 
very  beautiful,  with  fine  olive  complexions,  soft 


54  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

blue  eyes  and  round  plump  figures,  with  very 
small  hands  and  feet.  They  were  the  peasants 
minding  their  sheep  and  goats.  It  was  their 
dinner  hour  and  they  had  met  under  the  trees 
to  eat  their  noonday  meal.  As  soon  as  they 
saw  us  they  ceased  their  dancing  and  began  to 
sing  their  Swiss  songs,  which  echoed  over  the 
.Alps,  and  it  was  not  long  before  a  perfect  swarm 
of  sheep  and  goats  came  running  down  the 
mountain  side  in  answer  to  the  carol,  which 
was  a  signal  to  them  to  come.  We  stood  spell 
bound  watching  the  scene  until  they  sounded 
another  kind  of  note  and  the  goats  came  and 
began  butting  our  jacks,  and  one  old  lady  with 
a  big  fan  began  screaming  out  for  help.  I  was 
so  full  of  laughter  watching  the  old  lady  that  I 
did  not  notice  a  big  goat  come  behind  my  jack 
and  give  him  such  a  bunt  that  I  went  sprawling 
over  the  jack's  head. 

The  guide  told  us  to  give  them  some  sous  to 
call  their  goats  off,  so  we  gave  them  some  and 
everything  was  all  right.  They  had  trained  the 
goats  in  this  manner  in  order  to  get  money  out 
of  tourists,  but  they  sang  and  danced  for  us 
for  paying  them  and  we  went  our  way  laughing 
at  the  tableau  of  the  goats  and  the  jacks. 

We  remained  in  Switzerland  for  two  weeks, 
spending  most  of  our  time  among  the  peasants 
and  the  sick.  They  used  extracts  of  flowers 
for  sickness,  as  there  was  not  a  doctor  for  miles 
around,  and  they  seldom  sent  for  one  until  the 
patient  was  beyond  all  earthly  assistance.  I 
saw  them  kill  large  fat  dogs  to  extract  the  oil 
of  them  for  consumption,  and  when  the  oil  was 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  55 

treated  it  looked  like  hog's  lard,  and  the  patient 
soon  got  to  like  it  and  eat  it  on  their  bread  in 
stead  of  butter.  I  talked  with  a  number  of 
patients  and  they  told  me  that  it  was  a  sure 
cure  for  consumption. 

We  went  next  to  Naples  and  Mount  Vesuvius, 
and  every  step  we  took  we  were  annoyed  with 
beggars.  At  the  foot  of  the  mountain  were 
men  to  carry  tourists  up  in  chairs  on  two  poles, 
four  men  to  a  chair.  We  arranged  with  them 
and  they  carried  us  up  the  mountain,  stopping 
halfway  at  the  Monks'  Hut,  where  we  had  re 
freshments  and  found  the  reverend  gentlemen 
very  interesting.  They  had  large  St.  Bernard 
dogs  and  would  send  them  out  to  find  men  that 
had  been  lost  in  the  snow  of  the  mountains 
and  they  would  bring  him  in  dead  or  alive. 
Four  of  them  would  carry  a  man. 

At  times  it  is  impossible  to  make  the  ascent 
on  account  of  the  lava  flowing  from  the  crater 
at  the  top,  and  the  monks  have  to  vacate  in 
short  order.  We  went  out  as  near  to  the 
mouth  of  the  crater  as  we  could  and  it  was  dark 
when  we  returned. 

We  remained  there  four  days,  after  which  we 
went  to  Florence,  where  it  was  very  warm  and 
the  people  slept  most  of  the  day  and  would  go 
on  the  housetops  in  the  evening  to  get  a  breath 
of  fresh  air.  The  ladies  wore  lace  dresses  and 
black  lace  over  their  heads  and  the  servants 
were  all  men.  I  would  go  out  on  the  suspen 
sion  bridge  and  watch  the  two  classes  of  people 
going  to  and  fro,  the  poor  to  their  work  and  the 
rich  to  their  homes.  I  went  to  the  factories 


56  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

and  watched  the  men  and  women  plaiting  straw 
for  hats  and  bonnets  and  I  visited  the  churches 
to  hear  the  singing,  which  was  very  splendid. 
The  weather  was  too  warm  to  go  about  much, 
so  we  stayed  there  only  five  days. 

Then  we  went  to  Rome  and  took  in  the 
sights  of  that  great  city.  We  visited  St.  Peter's 
cathedral,  where  there  were  100  men  and 
boys  in  white  circular  robes  singing  masses 
and  vespers  and  the  floor  was  marble  and  mo 
saic  tiling  of  all  colors  imaginable.  The  walls 
were  of  marble  covered  with  oil  paintings  of 
Scripture  scenes,  with  magnificent  statuary  in 
all  the  nooks  of  the  building.  Down  the  aisle 
of  the  church  there  is  a  box  a  foot  and  a  half 
long,  one  foot  wide  and  one  foot  high,  of  solid 
gold,  and  said  to  contain  the  ashes  of  St.  Peter. 
People  of  all  nations  come  and  bring  their  jew 
els  and  riches  and  lay  them  on  this  box  and  the 
Pope  comes  and  blesses  them.  They  are  hence 
forth  treasured  as  sacred  relics.  There  is  a  life 
like  statue  of  Christ  as  he  was  taken  from  the 
cross  with  the  wounds  in  his  side,  hands  and 
feet  and  the  pallor  of  death  on  his  face.  One 
would  almost  think  they  could  see  the  lips 
quiver  to  look  at  it  and  imagine  that  the  look 
of  death  was  real.  There  is  also  a  statue  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  that  is  covered  with  jewels  and 
precious  stones  which  wealthy  people  have 
brought  and  strewn  about,  some  having  put 
gold  chains  about  her  neck  with  their  names 
engraved  thereon. 

We  stayed  six  weeks  in  Rome  and  then  went 
to  Cairo  where  the  hanging  gardens  of  Babylon 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  57 

once  were.  We  took  camels  and  Arabian  guides 
and  started  across  the  sandy  desert,  the  guides 
wearing  loose  white  bloomers  with  full  white 
gowns  girded  about  the  middle  with  red  cord 
with  two  red  tassels,  red  turkey  hats  and  light 
boots  laced  nearly  to  the  knee.  They  filled 
large  skin  bags  with  water  and  hung  them  on 
either  side  of  the  camels.  We  also  took  sacks 
and  baskets  of  provisions  and  a  skin  of  wine. 
We  started  and  of  all  the  journeys  I  ever  made 
this  was  the  worst,  with  hot  sun  and  sandy 
desert.  I  was  glad  when  we  came  to  a  hut 
where  three  monks  lived  and  a  little  spring  of 
water  bubbled  out  of  the  sand.  We  stayed  there 
all  night  and  I  was  glad  to  have  some  kind  of  a 
change.  We  started  back  the  next  morning 
thoroughly  disgusted  with  the  monotony  of  the 
place  and  I  made  up  my  mind  that  the  next  time 
I  started  out  to  hunt  scenery  it  would  not  be 
on  a  sandy  desert.  We  left  at  once  on  our  re 
turn  to  Paris,  where  we  remained  three  weeks 
and  then  went  back  to  Manchester,  England. 

While  in  Paris  we  went  to  the  races  about 
twelve  miles  out  and  the  emporer  and  Empress 
Eugenie  were  present.  We  saw  the  famous  race 
horse  Gladiateur  run  and  win  the  grand  prize 
and  a  cup  and  the  Empress  Eugenie  with  her 
maids  of  honor  made  a  grand  sight  on  the  stand. 
She  was  a  handsome  blonde  and  was  dressed  in 
amber  colored  silk  with  camel  hair  cloak,  amber 
color,  and  her  maids  of  honor  were  dressed  in 
blue  silk  suits  all  one  color. 

When  I  got  to  Manchester  I  went  to  Chester  to 
the  races  there.  Chester  is  one  of  the  oldest  towns 


58  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

in  England,  with  high  walls  all  around  and  one 
can  go  up  the  steps  and  all  around  the  city  on  the 
walls.  On  these  walls  they  have  museums  and 
all  kinds  of  shops  for  selling  things  and  they  are 
certainly  100  years  behind  the  times  in  every 
thing.  We  went  to  the  races  and  there  I  found 
out  the  secret  of  how  the  betting  men  made 
their  money  on  the  races.  They  would  start 
about  eight  horses,  one  of  which  was  always  a 
favorite;  then  they  would  take  the  field,  laying 
odds  against  them  all  except  perhaps  the  favor 
ite,  when  the  person  betting  had  to  lay  odds  on 
it  winning.  They  would  only  have  to  pay  one 
winner  and  win  all  the  bets  that  were  laid  on  the 
other  seven. 

We  next  took  a  trip  to  Wrexham,  North 
Wales,  on  the  River  Dee.  The  Welsh  are  a  very 
excitable  class  of  people.  The  women  wear 
wide-brimmed  black  beaver  hats,  shaped  like  a 
cove  sugar  loaf,  broad  at  bottom  and  tapering 
narrow  at  the  top,  long  cloaks  with  a  yoke  on  the 
shoulders  and  full  skirt  to  the  bottom  of  their 
dresses.  There  were  small  thatched  roof  cot 
tages  plastered  on  the  outside  and  kept  white 
washed  on  the  inside  and  outside,  with  a  fine 
garden  of  flowers  in  front,  with  fruit  and  vege 
tables  at  back. 

From  there  I  went  to  Liverpool,  where  I  met 
Nursey  and  Nettie.  I  then  took  steamer  for 
Dublin  and  stopped  at  the  Shelbies  Hotel  in  St. 
Stephen's  Green,  taking  my  little  girl  Nettie 
with  me.  When  I  went  out  next  day  I  was  sur 
prised  to  see  such  wide  streets  and  a  fine  post- 
office  on  Sackfeald  street,  with  five  large  stone 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  59 

pillars  in  front,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  street 
and  opposite  the  postoffice  a  large  statue  of 
Saint  Patrick.  The  sidewalk  was  full  of  fash 
ionably  dressed  people.  I  would  rise  early  in 
the  morning  and  take  a  walk  in  Peel's  Park. 
On  my  way  was  a  large  Catholic  church,  with 
massive  stone  pillars  in  front,  with  large  stone 
steps  and  a  large  arch  forming  a  vestibule,  the 
doors  being  quite  a  distance  from  the  outer  arch. 
This  vestibule  was  full  of  women  half  clad  and 
chilled  from  waiting  for  the  doors  to  open  so  they 
could  go  in  and  attend  their  morning  worship. 
The  Irish  seem  to  be  more  faithful  to  their  reli 
gion  than  other  people.  It  was  Sunday  and  I 
had  made  some  few  acquaintances,  among  them 
three  young  ladies  who  were  very  rich;  so  we 
concluded  to  give  the  old  folks  the  slip  and  go 
the  rounds  ourselves.  We  took'  a  jaunting  car 
and  went  to  the  Beggar's  Bush  Barracks,  where 
the  military  band  plays  every  Sunday  in  the 
park.  We  stayed  there  an  hour,  hearing  the  band 
and  watching  the  parade.  We  then  went  to  the 
lighthouse  at  Queenstown.  An  old  woman 
called  Peggy  lives  there ;  she  was  a  jolly  old  lady 
and  sat  smoking  a  long  clay  pipe  with  sealing 
wax  on  the  end.  One  of  the  girls  gave  her  a 
shilling,  when  she  brought  out  a  little  brown  jug 
and  a  pot  of  milk  and  made  some  milk  punch; 
when  she  poured  the  stuff  out  it  looked  like  olive 
oil.  I  asked  her  what  it  was  and  she  said  it  was 
pugeen ;  that  she  had  made  it  herself  out  of  bar 
ley  and  cheated  the  English  government  out  of 
the  duty.  When  I  tasted  it,  it  was  very  mild 
and  tasted  oily,  but  when  I  drank  what  was  in 


60  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

the  mug  I  thought  I  was  on  fire.  The  girls 
made  fun  of  me.  Peggy  got  another  long  jlay 
pipe,  which  she  threw  on  the  floor  and  made  a 
cross  of  the  pieces.  She  danced  the  Fisher's 
hornpipe  between  the  pieces  and  never  touched 
them,  being  as  nimble  as  a  kitten,  the  girls  keep 
ing  time  with  their  hands  and  feet.  When  she 
got  through  she  sang  Irish  songs.  We  stayed  there 
for  tea  and  had  pickeletts  and  poached  eggs,ham 
and  pickled  salmon,  and  tea  as  black  as  coal. 
We  left  there  about  eight  o'clock,  taking  another 
mug  each  of  pugeen,  gave  her  a  shilling  apiece, 
got  into  the  jaunting  car  and  made  for  the  city, 
singing  all  the  way,  the  pugeen  making  us  all 
feel  jolly.  It  was  12  o'clock  when  we  ar 
rived  at  the  hotel.  The  next  day  we  went  to 
Darrs  Bally  Mahone  and  the  lakes  of  sweet 
Killarney,  of  which  all  kinds  of  ghost  stories 
are  told.  It  is  a  very  fine  walk  and  the  hills 
around  seem  very  romantic.  If  you  shout  out 
"Pat"  the  echo  will  come  back  "Faith." 

Women  were  selling  homemade  Limerick  lace 
and  jewelry  made  from  bog  root,  something  like 
jet,  but  more  of  a  dead  black,  carved  in  all  man 
ners  and  shapes.  I  visited  many  fine  cottages; 
all  had  gardens.  They  burned  turf  instead  of 
coal  and  I  did  not  see  the  misery  among  them 
that  I  expected  from  what  I  had  heard.  They 
all  seemed  contented  and  happy.  They  asked 
me  if  there  were  any  landlords  in  America.  I 
told  them  "Yes" ;  that  they  had  to  pay  rent  for  a 
small  room  at  the  top  of  a  four-story  house  and 
if  they  did  not  pay  rent  every  month  they  were 
put  out.  They  said  they  thought  they  could  get 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  61 

farms  and  houses  free,  but  if  they  had  to  pay  rent 
they  did  not  think  so  much  of  our  freedom. 

We  left  and  went  to  Cork,  where  I  bade  good- 
by  to  Nursey  and  sister  and  took  the  steamer 
"City  of  Cork"  for  New  York. 

We  had  a  very  pleasant  set  of  passenegrs.  One 
day  I  was  playing  a  game  of  shuffleboard  with 
the  captain  of  the  steamer,  when  the  steward 
came  and  said  they  wanted  him  to  come  below 
and  decide  a  bet.  We  went.  It  was  a  bet 
between  two  gentlemen  that  no  one  on  board 
could  tell  what  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world 
were.  The  captain  took  off  his  hat  and  scratch 
ed  his  head  and  said  he  did  not  know,  unless  it 
was  woman.  They  all  laughed  and  then  I  was 
asked  if  I  knew.  I  told  them  "Yes,  that  I  had 
them  in  my  pocket."  That  was  too  much  for 
them ;  they  roared  with  laughter ;  such  a  noise  I 
ever  heard.  When  I  visited  the  museum  on  the 
walls  of  the  "City  of  Chester,"  I  opened  a  very 
ancient  book  called  Santacupes,  in  which  I  found 
it  stated  what  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world 
were,  and  took  a  copy  of  them  in  a  little  memor 
andum  book  I  had,  and  so  I  took  my  book  out  of 
my  pocket  and  showed  them  what  the  seven 
wonders  were: 

First — Pyramids  of  Egypt. 

Second — The  Pharos  of  Alexandria. 

Third — The    walls  and    hanging    gardens 
of  Babylon. 

Fourth — Temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus. 

Fifth — The  statue  of  the   Olympian 
Jupiter. 

Sixth--  The  Mausoleum  of  Artemisia. 

Seventh — The  Colossus  at  Rhodes, 


62  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

This  decided  the  bet,  which  was  won  by  the 
younger  man.     I  was  getting  very  tired  of  travel 
and  longed  to  get  home.     I  had  written  to  Col. 
C.  J.  Jack,  my  father-in-law  that  I  would  sail 
on  the  "City  of  Cork"  from  Cork. 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  63 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WE  got  to  New  York  on  a  Sunday  and  as  we 
lay  in  the  river  a  rowboat  came  alongside ; 
the  gangway  was  lowered  when  who  should  come 
on  board  but  my  husband  and  Colonel  Jack,  with 
two  brother  officers  and  four  sailers  from  his  own 
ship,  which  was  an  agreeable  surprise  for  me, 
as  I  thought  he  was  far  away.  He  had  been 
transferred  to  the  ironclad  "Penobscot,"  when 
the  war  was  over.  They  were  all  in  their  full 
uniform. 

Captain  Tippet  of  the  steamer  insisted  on  them 
all  staying  to  dinner  and  went  to  the  custom 
house  with  us. 

Nettie  did  not  know  her  papa.  She  called  him 
the  man  with  the  big  whiskers.  We  soon  got 
through  with  the  customs-house  officers  and 
went  to  Colonel  Jack's  house.  We  were  there 
two  weeks  and  then  made  arrangements  to  go  to 
my  own  home,  and  mighty  glad  was  I  to  get 
there  again.  The  captain  suffered  very  much 
from  his  hurt,  and  kept  growing  worse,  so 
we  went  to  live  in  Brooklyn,  in  order  that  he 
could  get  good  medical  attendance.  A  year 
after  I  had  come  home  my  second  child  was  born, 
a  fine  bright  boy. 

The  captain  by  this  time  had  got  worse,  en 
largement  of  the  heart  had  set  in  and  he  could 
not  lift  twenty  pounds.  He  had  to  get  the 
greatest  care,  and  everything  was  done  for  him 
that  we  could  do. 


64  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

I  went  to  speculating  in  real  estate  and  was 
very  successful.  I  started  in  with  $5,000  and  in 
fourteen  months  I  made  $30,000. 

I  thought  the  captain  would  get  better  if  we 
went  to  Chicago  and  we  concluded  to  go  and 
buy  a  farm.  So  I  sold  the  house  we  lived  in  and 
kept  our  piano  and  the  best  of  our  furniture 
and  had  them  packed  for  shipment. 

My  baby  now  took  sick  and  as  the  people  who 
had  bought  the  house  were  now  moving  in  the 
captain  took  rooms  in  a  hotel.  Nettie,  who  was 
now  five  years  old,  was  taken  down  sick  with 
scarlet  fever.  We  moved  out  on  a  Tuesday 
and  my  boy  died  on  Friday  and  was  buried  on 
Saturday. 

When  I  came  back  from  the  funeral  I  sat  down 
on  Nettie's  bed  and  was  crying,  when  Nettie  told 
me  not  to  cry,  as  she  was  going  to  her  brother. 
I  said: 

"You  will  not  leave  mamma  all  alone,  will 
you?" 

She  said  that  when  they  took  her  brother  away 
she  tried  to  say  her  prayers,  but  could  not,  for 
the  angels  came  and  told  her  they  would  take 
her  to  her  brother  and  showed  her  such  pretty 
flowers. 

"Don't  cry,  Mamma,  but  pray;  and  when  I 
have  got  on  my  new  white  dress  and  in  the  nice 
coffin  like  brother,  see  that  the  curls  on  my  fore 
head  are  fixed  nice,  as  I  want  to  look  nice  when 
I  join  the  angels." 

She  closed  her  eyes  and  the  captain  came  in 
in  about  an  hour  with  the  doctor.  She  asked 
him  to  kiss  her  and  to  lay  her  head  on  my  bosom. 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  65 

I  took  her  on  my  knees,  thinking  that  she  had 
gone  to  sleep  and  was  going  to  put  her  in  bed, 
when  I  saw  she  had  gone  to  sleep  forever. 

I  laid  her  down,  and  pen  cannot  describe  the 
bitterness  of  my  soul.  I  did  not  cry  now, 
neither  could  I  pray.  I  thought  God  had  not 
been  just  to  me,  as  there  were  so  many  children 
with  cruel  parents,  whom  death  would  have 
been  a  blessing  to,  and  yet  they  were  spared  to 
their  misery,  while  my  children,  whom  I  loved, 
were  taken  from  me.  We  buried  our  Nettie  on 
Sunday  from  Theodore  Cuyler's  church,  in 
Greenwood  cemetery,  Brooklyn.  The  saddest 
thing  of  all  was  to  have  to  leave  them,  as  we 
were  all  ready  to  start  for  Chicago. 

When  we  arrived  in  Chicago  and  looked  at  the 
farm  I  found  it  was  not  what  it  had  been  repre 
sented  to  be  and  would  not  buy  it;  so  returned 
to  the  city  and  went  into  the  wholesale  grocery 
business,  but  did  not  do  very  well,  the  captain 
not  knowing  much  about  business.  He  had 
been  to  sea  all  his  life  and  did  not  know  anything 
about  buying  goods.  WTe  soon  lost  quite  a  sum 
of  money. 

We  were  there  two  years  when  my  third  child 
was  born,  a  girl,  and  when  she  was  three  months 
old,  the  captain  bought  a  large  stock  of  goods, 
part  of  which  was  delivered  when  our  stable 
caught  fire,  which  set  fire  to  our  house,  we  hav 
ing  a  narrow  escape,  myself,  baby  and  the  ser 
vant  girl  being  taken  out  of  the  fire  by  the  men. 
Some  of  the  furniture  and  the  horses  and  the 
carriages  were  saved.  Our  loss  was  about 
$20,000.  I  afterwards  traded  the  horses  and 


66  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

carriage  for  two  building  lots,  and  some  time 
after,  when  I  tried  to  sell  the  lots,  on  getting  an 
abstract,  found  that  the  party  I  had  bought 
from  had  sold  them  the  day  before  to  another 
party,  and  when  I  went  to  look  for  him  I  found 
that  he  had  left  the  country.  His  name  was 
Frank  Buckley.  I  had  only  two  lots,  which  I 
had  bought  cheap  away  out  near  the  stock  yards. 
We  left  Chicago  thoroughly  disgusted  and  went 
to  B rook vi lie,  Kansas,  where  we  bought  a  tract 
of  320  acres  of  land  from  the  National  Land 
Company.  We  built  a  large  double  house, 
planted  fruit  trees  and  bought  some  cows,  hogs, 
horses  and  farming  utensils.  One  day  on  going 
out  to  the  well,  where  Jenny,  my  little  girl,  was 
playing,  I  saw  a  large  snake,  an  adder.  I  took 
a  pitchfork  and  ran  it  through  the  head  and 
threw  it  to  the  hogs,  as  I  knew  they  would  kill 
the  rattlesnake.  To  my  surprise  the  hogs  all 
crouched  in  a  corner  and  were  afraid  of  the  snake. 
I  called  the  hired  man,  who  told  me  it  had  a 
very  poisonous  sting  in  its  tail,  which  the  hogs 
knew,  and  that  was  why  they  were  afraid. 

I  took  very  sick  with  chills  and  fever  and  could 
not  live  there,  so  we  traded  the  farm  and  every 
thing  for  a  house  and  two  acres  of  ground  in 
the  suburbs  of  Brooklyn,  and  went  there. 

After  we  got  to  Brooklyn  the  captain  wrote  to 
Admiral  Porter  to  help  him  get  a  position,  as 
Admiral  Porter  always  stood  by  his  men.  After 
the  war  Congress  passed  a  law  that  service  men 
should  have  preference  for  government  positions, 
so  Admiral  Porter  wrote  to  Rear- Admiral  Smith 
to  give  Captain  Jack  a  position  in  the  Brooklya 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  67 

navy  yard  and  make  a  vacancy  for  him  at  once. 
So  the  captain  of  the  watch  was  dismissed  and 
Captain  Jack  put  in  his  place. 

In  the  meantime  I  had  gone  to  housekeeping 
and  made  a  trade  for  a  house  and  lot  away  out 
on  the  line  of  Brooklyn  and  East  New  York.  As 
the  captain  got  his  pay  every  month  I  kept  buy 
ing  lots  and  speculating.  I  built  a  house  with 
bay  windows  and  all  modern  conveniences  and 
had  a  beautiful  homelike  place.  I  began  to 
think  again  that  life  was  worth  living. 

One  day  the  captain  came  home  and  was  very 
sad.  I  wondered  what  could  be  the  cause,  so  I 
asked  him  and  he  told  me  he  was  ordered  to  do  a 
thing  which  he  did  not  like  to  do  and  it  troubled 
him  very  much. 

At  that  time  there  was  great  excitement  about 
the  Spaniards  sinking  one  of  our  vessels,  along 
with  a  large  number  on  board.  Our  government 
had  demanded  an  explanation  from  the  Span 
iards,  and  in  the  meantime  two  large  Spanish 
man-of-war  ships  came  into  the  Brooklyn  navy 
yards  for  repair.  One  of  them  had  got  out  and 
they  wanted  to  hold  the  other  one  until  there 
was  a  settlement  for  the  United  States  ship 
(the  "Merrimac")  that  had  been  sunk. 

If  we  went  to  war  over  the  affair  the  "Ari- 
apolis"  would  do  great  damage  to  our  navy,  as 
she  was  a  fine  vessel,  well  manned  and  equipped. 
In  retaliation  for  the  loss  of  our  vessel,  they 
wanted  the  "Ariapolis"  blown  up,  as  she  was 
ready  to  sail,  and  word  came  to  the  navy  yard 
not  to  let  her  go  out  until  further  orders.  She 
was  at  one  of  the  docks  and  ready  to  start. 


68  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

They  got  powder  and  everything  ready  to  blow 
her  up.  This  was  on  Saturday.  The  captain 
said  it  was  a  disgraceful  act  and  little  less  than 
murder,  and  that  it  would  bring  disgrace  on  the 
United  States,  and  that  he  would  either  have  to 
blow  up  the  vessel  or  quit  the  service.  I  said 
nothing.  I  dressed  up  in  boy's  clothes  and 
went  to  the  navy  yards  and  onboard  the  "Ariap- 
olis."  They  had  been  at  mass  and  were  gam 
bling  in  the  officer's  messroom.  I  thought  it 
would  be  a  dreadful  shame  to  blow  up  so  fine  a 
body  of  men  when  they  were  not  to  blame.  It 
looked  like  gaining  a  man's  confidence,  asking 
him  to  your  house  and  then  murdering  him, 
and  it  would  truly  have  been  a  disgrace  to  our 
nation,  for  as  the  "Ariapolis"  came  into  our 
yards  in  peace  it  should  be  let  go  in  peace,  and 
if  they  made  war  they  should  give  her  a  chance 
for  her  life. 

I  procured  the  password  from  the  captain. 
He  did  not  know  I  was  going  out.  I  was  de 
termined  the  vessel  should  not  be  blown  up. 
The  powder  was  placed  under  her,  the  fuse  was 
laid  and  my  captain  was  to  touch  it  off.  I  took 
my  pocket  knife  and  cut  the  fuse  in  four  or 
five  different  places,  and  took  a  piece  of  the  fuse 
about  a  yard  long  and  put  it  in  my  pocket, 
and  left  everything  so  they  would  not  know  it 
had  been  disturbed.  I  started  home,  but  had 
to  pass  two  watch  guards  and  give  the  pass 
word,  which  was  "Nelly  Grant."  I  climbed 
over  the  walls  and  walked  home,  as  the  cars 
did  not  run  after  two  o'clock. 

When  I  got  home  I  did  not  go  to  bed,  but  sat 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  69 

thinking  how  I  could  prevent  her  getting  away. 
The  captain  came  in,  in  the  morning  and  told 
me  something  was  wrong,  for  the  fuse  had  been 
touched,  but  did  not  explode  the  powder. 

I  hit  on  a  plan  to  prevent  her  from  going  out. 
It  was  to  sink  one  of  our  old  boats  at  the  mouth 
of  the  dock,  so  that  the  big  man-of-war  could 
not  get  out  until  the  boat  was  raised;  and  they 
could  take  their  time  in  raising  her.  After 
breakfast  the  captain  went  to  the  navy  yards 
and  gave  his  plans  to  a  superior  officer,  who 
agreed  with  him  at  once.  So  a  coal  barge  was 
took  up  to  the  dock  and  tied.  The  captain 
went  on  deck  and  took  her  pumps  off  and  cut  a 
block  out  of  her  bottom  and  left  it,  so  that  when 
night  came  he  took  the  block  out  and  went  to 
the  watchhouse.  She  sank  two  hours  after. 

So  the  "Ariapolis"  was  a  prisoner  without 
any  disgrace  to  our  nation  or  any  innocent  lives 
lost. 

The  next  day  I  told  the  captain  what  I  had 
done  and  showed  him  the  piece  of  fuse  I  had 
taken  as  a  relic.  He  was  very  glad  I  did  it. 
After  some  parleying  the  Spaniards  paid  all 
damages;  the  coal  barge  was  raised  and  the 
"Ariapolis"  went  away,  its  crew  in  ignorance 
of  how  near  they  were  to  eternity  and  that  they 
owed  their  escape  to  the  actions  of  a  woman. 

All  was  now  sunshine  in  our  little  home,  and 
in  March  a  baby  girl  was  born.  Our  gardener 
neighbors  all  sent  a  pot  of  flowers  and  it  so  hap 
pened  that  they  were  all  daisies  of  different 
colors,  so  we  named  the  baby  Daisy,  and  well 
she  deserved  the  name,  as  she  was  the  most 


70  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

beautiful  child  I  ever  saw.  All  went  well  with 
us.  I  bought  and  sold  real  estate  and  made 
money  very  fast. 

One  week  before  Christmas  the  captain  came 
home  and  said  his  father  was  very  sick  and  had 
been  calling  for  me  all  the  time. 

So  I  took  Daisy  and  went  to  see  the  Colonel. 
When  I  got  to  him  I  thought  he  was  asleep,  and 
sat  down  by  his  bedside  for  about  an  hour, 
when  he  said: 

"Why  don't  she  come?" 

I  said,  "Who  do  you  want  to  see,  pa?" 

"My  daughter  Nelly,"  he  said. 

I  told  him  I  was  here.  He  asked  me  to  put 
my  hand  on  his  forehead,  and  he  closed  his 
hands  as  in  prayer  and  said: 

"God,  have  mercy  on  her,  have  mercy  on 
her.  When  her  poor,  kind  fair  face  is  smiling 
her  poor,  sad  heart  will  be  breaking." 

He  prayed  God  to  protect  and  comfort  me  in 
my  hours  of  sorrow  and  affliction.  He  said: 

"Nelly,  if  you  could  see  what  I  see,  my  poor 
girl,  you  know  not  what  is  in  store  for  you,  and 
what  sorrow  is  before  you.  Come  in  front  of 
me,  so  that  I  can  see  you." 

I  did  as  he  told  me,  but  he  went  off  to  sleep 
again,  while  I  sat  beside  him  and  thought  over 
what  he  had  told  me,  thinking  he  must  have 
been  dreaming,  for  I  had  not  a  trouble  in  the 
world;  everything  was  bright  and  cheerful  with 
me;  this  world  never  seemed  so  beautiful  to  me 
before. 

At  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  he  opened  his 
eyes  and  looked  for  me.  He  said: 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  71 

"I  am  going;  good-by,  and  may  God  comfort 
you  in  your  hour  of  need."  Those  were  his 
last  words.  He  had  breathed  his  last. 

Captain  Jack  took  his  father's  death  very 
much  to  heart,  and  his  old  heart  trouble  grew 
worse.  He  got  so  bad  he  could  not  lie  down, 
as  he  would  choke  if  he  did.  He  had  the  best 
medical  aid  I  could  procure.  The  doctors  held 
a  consultation  and  said  his  heart  had  gotten  so 
enlarged  that  he  could  not  live;  that  dropsy  of 
the  heart  had  set  in.  He  suffered  dreadfully 
until  the  end  came.  I  had  not  gone  to  bed  a 
night  since  his  father's  death.  I  had  many 
weary  nights  with  him.  Sometimes  the  Free 
Masons  from  his  own  lodge  would  sit  up  with 
him,  but  I  would  not  dare  undress  and  go  to 
bed.  When  he  would  fall  asleep  in  his  big, 
easy  chair,  I  would  lie  down  on  the  floor  and 
take  a  nap.  Toward  the  last  of  his  illness  my 
little  Daisy  would  say: 

"Dod  bless  poor  dear  daden." 

She  could  not  speak  plainly  yet. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  June  the  captain  was 
raving  and  I  had  a  fearful  time  with  him.  After 
a  time  he  became  quiet  and  I  lay  on  a  lounge  in 
the  room.  I  thought  I  saw  his  father  and  my 
little  Nettie  standing  beside  him  and  waiting 
for  him  to  get  ready  for  the  journey.  Our 
little  boy  came  and  threw  flowers  at  his  feet, 
and  the  American  flag  was  all  ready  to  throw 
over  him. 

I  jumped  up  with  a  start  and  when  I  did  the 
captain  said: 

"I  wish  you  would  send  for  all  of  my  men  that 


72  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

can  come  to  see  me,  for  I  am  going  to  die,  for  I 
saw  our  Nettie,  and  she  said : 

"'Come,  papa,  come  and  leave  this  world  of 
sin  and  sorrow  and  come  to  your  God.'  " 

So  I  sent  a  messenger  to  the  navy  yards  to 
tell  all  the  men  to  come  that  could.  He  told 
them  he  was  going  to  die  and  leave  them,  but 
that  heaven  would  not  be  heaven  to  him  until 
his  wife  came  to  him;  and  that  he  knew  Daisy 
would  soon  follow  him.  He  spoke  to  his  men 
very  calmly;  most  of  them  were  in  tears.  Then 
the  rector  of  the  Trinity  church  came  and  ad 
ministered  the  sacrament  to  him  for  the  last 
time  on  earth.  We  were  Episcopalians,  and 
all  our  children  were  baptized  in  that  church. 

At  six  o'clock  he  went  on  his  long  journey, 
never  to  return  in  flesh  and  blood. 

I  laid  him  out  on  the  floor  and  watched  over 
him,  for  I  wanted  to  do  these  last  sad  rites 
myself.  I  could  not  bear  to  have  another 
touch  him.  I  sent  to  the  city  for  the  under 
taker,  and  Daisy  and  Captain  Black  Cat  were 
all  alone  with  him  that  night;  Daisy  had  fallen 
asleep. 

At  six  o'clock  the  undertaker  came.  When 
the  casket  was  being  carried  down  stairs  the 
old  black  cat  set  up  a  terrible  squall,  and  kept 
it  up  for  some  time.  The  corpse  was  put  in 
the  parlor  and  the  cat  came  and  lay  under  the 
casket;  it  would  not  eat  a  mouthful  until  after 
the  funeral.  She  followed  the  corpse  to  the 
grave  and  I  never  saw  her  after. 

The  Free  Masons  conducted  the  funeral;  they 
were  in  full  uniform  and  acted  as  his  pallbear- 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  73 

ers.  It  was  the  most  solemn  scene  of  my  life. 
The  choir  sang,  "Jesus»  lover  of  my  soul,"  and 
"I  would  not  stay  away  from  Thee." 

The  minister  spoke  about  how  he  came  by 
his  death,  his  bravery  in  the  war,  what  he  had 
suffered  from  his  injuries  and  what  a  kind  hus 
band  and  father  he  had  been.  He  said  he  hoped 
the  men  would  live  as  Captain  Jack  had  done. 

We  took  him  to  Evergreen  cemetery  and  laid 
him  in  the  receiving  vault,  until  I  had  decided 
on  a  plot  of  ground. 

When  all  was  over  I  felt  as  though  I  had  lost 
one  of  my  arms,  I  was  so  crippled.  I  did  not 
know  what  to  do.  I  would  go  from  room  to 
room  and  not  know  what  I  wanted.  Even  the 
animals  and  the  chickens  seemed  to  know  there 
was  something  wrong.  Even  my  garden  seemed 
to  fade  and  the  flowers  to  droop.  I  could  not 
take  an  interest  in  anything.  No  pen  can  de 
scribe  the  feelings  of  loneliness  and  desertion 
that  came  over  me  at  the  table.  To  see  the 
vacant  chair  at  the  head,  no  more  rejoicing  over 
papa's  bringing  home  nice  things  from  town. 
I  prayed  that  if  my  husband  had  ever  done  a 
wrong  in  his  life,  for  God  to  punish  me  for  it 
and  spare  him.  I  would  take  my  children 
every  Sunday  morning  to  the  cemetery  and  sit 
and  watch  the  vault  where  he  lay,  until  the 
fall  came,  when  I  began  to  arouse  myself  as  if 
from  a  dream.  I  had  my  two  little  girls  to  edu 
cate  and  provide  for,  and  found  I  still  had  a 
mission  in  the  world. 

I  began  to  look  around  me  to  lay  some  plans 
for  the  future. 


74  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 


CHAPTER  V. 

T  WENT  through  Prospect  Park  and  on  the 
•*•  boulevard  on  the  junction  of  Coney  Island 
road,  where  there  was  a  very  fine  tract  of  land. 
I  made  inquiry  as  to  the  owner  and  price,  and 
was  informed  it  was  $60,000.  I  soon  made  a 
trade  for  the  land  and  paid  a  portion  of  the 
money  down.  1  then  proceeded  to  build  a 
large  hotel  on  it,  with  marble  tiling,  and  fitted 
it  up  very  handsomely.  It  cost  me  $40,000, 
with  stables  and  outbuildings,  and  when  I 
opened  it  I  had  a  tremendous  run,  which 
gained  me  the  envy  of  the  other  road  houses, 
for  several  of  them  had  to  close,  as  I  took  all 
their  custom.  I  bought  my  own  material  and 
had  it  built  by  day  work;  that  is,  I  did  not  let 
it  by  contract,  and  it  was  a  source  of  great 
annoyance  to  me.  I  bought  $2,500  worth  of 
silverware  and  had  gotten  into  the  house  when 
I  had  to  go  to  town.  Coming  back,  driving 
through  the  park,  I  saw  a  big  fire  and  thought 
it  was  the  car  stables.  I  met  a  park  policeman 
and  asked  him  where  the  fire  was,  when  he  told 
me  it  was  the  Bon  Ton.  That  was  the  name 
of  my  hotel. 

I  whipped  my  horses,  and  they,  being  spirited 
animals,  went  full  speed.  When  I  got  there  I 
asked  for  my  children  and  was  told  they  were 
in  the  burning  building  and  that  the  firemen 
could  not  find  the  room  they  were  in.  There 


CAPT.    JACK'S  FORT  IN  THE  WOODS. 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  75 

was  a  second-story  balcony.  I  asked  a  tall 
man  to  help  me  to  get  up  on  the  balcony.  He 
gave  me  a  hoist.  I  got  on  his  shoulder  and 
made  a  jump,  catching  the  railing,  and  pulled 
myself  up  and  got  into  the  hall.  The  smoke 
drove  me  back.  I  tore  off  a  piece  of  my  dress 
and  tied  it  over  my  face,  so  that  the  fire  would 
not  burn  my  face,  and  crept  on  my  hands  and 
knees  along  the  hall,  counting  the  door  jams 
as  I  would  feel  them  with  my  hands,  until  I 
came  to  their  room,  which  was  locked.  I 
braced  my  feet  against  the  other  side  of  the 
hall  and  with  a  desperate  push  with  my  shoul 
ders  I  burst  open  the  door.  I  then  rushed  to 
the  window  and  found  that  I  could  not  open  it. 
I  put  my  foot  through  it  and  broke  the  sash. 
Then  I  went  back  to  the  bed  and  got  hold  of 
the  nurse  girl.  She  would  not  move.  I  took 
her  out  of  bed,  dragged  her  through  the  win 
dow  and  threw  her  over  the  balcony.  She  was 
caught  below.  I  went  back  and  got  my  two 
children  and  took  them  out  on  the  balcony, 
and  by  this  time  the  people  had  got  a  cloth  for 
me  to  drop  them  in.  I  dropped  Jenny  first 
and  then  Daisy,  and  they  were  caught  without 
injury.  Instead  of  dropping,  I  got  on  top  of 
the  railing  and  jumped.  I  got  on  top  of  the 
railing  and  jumped  into  the  air.  I  had  become 
excited  as  the  people  were  hollering  for  me  to 
jump;  that  the  roof  was  going.  I  broke  two 
ribs  and  my  ankle.  I  did  not  jump  too  soon, 
for  as  I  made  the  leap  the  roof  went  in  with  a 
crash,  and  they  barely  saved  me  from  the 
flames.  I  was  taken  to  a  neighbor's  house 


76  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

and  it  was  a  long  time  before  I  was  able  to  be 
around. 

I  was  unable  to  put  in  proof  of  loss  to  the 
insurance  company  in  time,  and  when  I  did 
they  would  not  pay  me.  I  commenced  suit, 
lost  it,  carried  it  to  a  higher  court  and  was  de 
feated  there,  when  I  carried  it  to  the  Supreme 
Court.  I  had  lost  all  my  money  and  business, 
and  it  cost  me  no  little  amount  in  carrying  the 
case  up. 

I  applied  for  a  pension  and  had  about  given 
it  up  when  it  came.  I  had  been  notified  that 
I  had  to  take  the  captain  out  of  the  vault  and 
it  worried  me  very  much.  When  my  pension 
came  I  was  paid  back  to  the  time  of  the  cap 
tain's  death.  I  went  to  the  cemetery  and 
bought  a  very  nice  plot  and  the  next  day  I 
went  with  my  two  little  girls  and  buried  their 
papa.  We  were  all  alone  except  the  men  who 
buried  the  body.  Daisy  looked  very  sad  and 
after  they  had  finished  and  gone  she  gathered 
a  lot  of  wild  flowers  and  laid  them  on  her  papa's 
grave. 

I  took  a  suite  of  rooms  that  were  not  in  the 
most  fashionable  part  of  the  city.  I  was  wait 
ing  to  see  what  would  be  the  outcome  of  my 
lawsuit  with  the  insurance  company,  and  waited 
three  years.  I  found  that  my  friends  gave  me 
a  wide  berth  after  I  lost  everything;  a  bitter 
experience  not  shared  by  me  alone. 

Then  I  began  to  see  that  the  only  friend  on 
earth  was  money,  and  not  only  a  friend,  but 
power;  that  I  must  stir  and  do  something^  or 
go  somewhere.  I  was  in  a  brown  study,  think- 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  77 

ing  what  was  best  for  me  to  do.  Christmas 
was  near,  and  I  was  determined  I  would  not 
wait  longer;  that  I  would  do  something  in  the 
spring. 

Christmas  came  and  the  children  hung  up 
their  stockings,  and  in  the  morning  they  were 
full  of  nice  things.  When  I  got  up  I  found 
Daisy  had  filled  a  peach  basket  full  of  cake 
and  other  things  and  had  gone  out  with  them. 
The  morning  was  bitter  cold.  I  was  angry 
with  her  and  intended  punishing  her  when  she 
came  back.  On  her  returning,  I  asked  her 
where  she  had  been.  She  told  me  she  had  been 
to  an  old  woman,  who  had  no  breakfast  and  no 
fire,  and  that  Santa  Claus  did  not  take  her 
anything,  so  she  had  taken  her  part  of  the 
things  that  Santa  Claus  had  brought  her.  I 
did  not  know  any  such  woman.  When  dinner 
time  came,  Daisy  took  all  of  her  turkey  and 
put  it  away  for  the  old  woman.  I  told  her  to 
eat  her  dinner  and  I  would  take  some  dinner  to 
the  old  woman.  I  put  up  a  large  plate  of  dinner 
and  Daisy  led  me  about  a  block  away  to  a  base 
ment,  where,  sure  enough,  I  found  an  old 
woman  without  fire  or  food,  just  as  Daisy  had 
told  me,  with  a  straw  bed  on  the  floor,  an 
old  chair,  and  a  little  rough  pine  table.  But 
the  place  was  clean.  I  gave  her  the  dinner  I 
had  brought  and  she  told  me  she  had  laid  down 
and  never  expected  to  get  up  again,  and  that 
she  had  not  tasted  food  for  over  two  days  when 
my  little  Daisy  was  running  after  a  little  kitten 
and  her  door  had  blown  open.  She  got  up  and 
saw  Daisy  with  a  large  homemade  biscuit.  She 


78  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

went  into  the  basement  with  the  old  woman, 
who  told  her  she  was  hungry  and  cold  and  that 
Daisy  had  given  her  her  biscuit  and  brought 
her  a  basket  of  nice  things. 

Daisy  would  take  her  something  to  eat  every 
day,  and  one  day  she  gave  her  ten  cents  that 
some  one  had  given  her;  and  all  that  had  kept 
her  alive  for  ten  days  past  was  what  the  child 
had  brought  her,  whom  she  looked  upon  as  an 
angel  sent  from  God  to  save  her  life.  She  wept 
most  bitterly  and  said  she  was  weeping  Christ 
mas  morning  when  a  gentle  rap  came  to  the 
door  and  there  stood  the  little  fairy  with  her 
basket.  I  was  poor,  but  could  spare  a  little, 
so  I  sent  her  some  coal  and  a  dollar.  I  was 
singing  in  the  choir  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  told  some  of  the  members,  who 
went  and  gave  her  aid. 

Nothing  unusual  transpired  and  now  it  is 
February  and  the  weather  is  fine.  On  Sunday 
I  felt  as  though  I  could  not  sing  in  the  choir 
that  day.  It  seemed  as  though  a  cloud  was 
hovering,  though  I  did  not  know  why.  The 
children  went  to  Sunday  school  and  it  was  late 
when  they  got  home.  Jenny  told  me  the  super 
intendent  said: 

"Who  can  doubt  there  is  a  God  when  we  see 
such  people  as  there  are  before  us?" 

And  he  said  to  Daisy: 

"You  are  the  little  pink  of  the  flock. " 

And  she  said: 

"No,  I  ain't;  I'se  a  daisy." 

The  children  had  gone  to  bed  that  night.  I 
was  sitting  reading,  when  I  thought  I  saw  a 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  79 

black  cloud  go  out  of  the  room  and  pass  into 
the  bedroom.  I  started  to  my  feet  and  went 
into  the  bedroom  where  the  children  were 
asleep,  but  I  could  see  nothing.  I  sat  down 
again  and  began  reading.  I  had  hardly  got 
started  when  I  saw  the  same  thing  again.  I 
wondered  what  it  all  meant,  when  it  came  again 
for  the  third  time.  I  lit  the  gas  in  the  bedroom 
and  went  over  to  the  bed  where  the  children 
lay.  I  saw  that  Daisy  was  in  a  great  fever. 
She  awoke  and  asked  me  for  a  drink  of  water. 
I  gave  her  a  drink  and  she  went  to  sleep.  I 
went  to  bed  with  the  children,  but  I  had  soon 
to  get  up  again,  for  Daisy  wanted  water  every 
few  minutes,  and  when  daylight  came  I  sent 
for  the  doctor.  When  he  came  he  said  that 
the  old  enemy,  scarlet  fever,  had  come  again. 
I  brought  her  out  and  made  her  a  bed  on  the 
lounge  in  the  sitting  room  and  at  twelve  o'clock 
noon  she  went  into  a  spasm.  I  wrung  my 
hands  and  screamed  and  was  heard  for  blocks. 
The  neighbors  ran  in  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 
I  was  as  white  as  death  and  cried: 

"Oh!  why  has  God  punished  me  so?  What 
have  -I  done  to  deserve  this  affliction,  and  he 
robbed  me  of  my  family?  Ah!  my  Daisy!  My 
Daisy!" 

The  doctor  came,  but  could  do  nothing.  She 
came  out  of  her  spasms  and  called  "Mamma/1 
I  came  and  sat  by  her.  She  looked  into  the 
corner  of  the  room  and  said  "Papa."  I  said, 
"Do  you  see  papa?"  She  smiled  and  said: 

'Tse  coming  papa;  I'se  coming.  I  am  going 
to  papa.  Don't  cry  mamma.  Come,  let  Daisy 


80  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

kiss  your  poor  white  face."  I  kissed  her  and 
in  less  than  three  minutes  she  was  dead.  I 
thought  I  would  go  mad.  My  poor  Daisy,  who 
was  the  pink  of  the  flock  at  Sabbath  school  the 
day  before,  was  now  cold  in  death.  I  was  calm 
in  all  my  troubles  before,  but  now  I  felt  like 
raving.  After  the  captain's  death  I  had  prayed 
God  to  punish  me  for  the  captain's  sins  if  he  had 
any,  and  let  his  soul  rest  in  peace;  but  I  never 
dreamed  of  such  punishment  as  this.  I  clasped 
my  hands  to  my  heart,  for  I  thought  it  would 
jump  out.  I  thought  of  what  Colonel  Jack 
had  told  me  on  his  deathbed,  "That  when  my 
poor,  fair  face  was  smiling,  my  poor,  sad  heart 
would  be  breaking."  If  any  one  could  have  ex 
perienced  my  grief  they  would  have  prayed  to 
God  to  spare  me  and  keep  them  from  suffering 
the  same.  No  pen  can  describe  my  misery.  If 
I  were  crucified  I  could  not  have  suffered  more 
nor  half  as  long.  I  sent  for  the  undertaker  and 
told  him  I  had  no  money,  as  my  three  months' 
pension  was  not  due  until  the  4th  of  March.  He 
said  never  mind,  he  would  attend  to  everything, 
and  so  I  sat  that  night  all  alone  with  my  Daisy 
I  thought  of  her  and  of  all  the  good  church  people 
and  wondered  if  there  were  any  among  them  who 
would  take  their  Christmas  gifts  and  Christmas 
dimes  to  a  poor  old  starving  woman  and  go  with 
out  themselves,  and  now  my  Daisy  was  gone  and 
I  had  not  a  cent  to  buy  flowers  for  her  coffin — 
the  least  gift  that  could  be  given — and  she  used 
to  fill  her  apron  with  flowers  and  take  them  to 
poor  dear  papa's  grave.  The  next  day  the 
undertaker  came  auj.  brought  her  one  of  the 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  81 

handsomest  caskets  he  could  get  and  a  box  of  the 
choicest  flowers,  which  he  laid  upon  her  breast. 
It  seemed  as  if  he  had  read  my  thoughts.  It 
was  a  very  chilly  day  and  we  buried  Daisy  beside 
her  papa.  I  could  not  bear  any  noise  after  she 
had  gone;  if  a  door  was  shut  quickly  it  would 
startle  me. 

The  same  night,  after  laying  her  by  her  papa, 
I  could  not  go  to  bed  and  shut  my  door  and  lock 
her  out.  It  seemed  as  if  she  would  come.  While 
sitting  with  sad  forebodings  I  composed  the 
following  lines: 

Close  the  door  gently, 

Bridle  thy  breath, 
My  little  earth  angel 

Is  talking  with  Death. 
Gently  he  wooes  her, 

She  wishes  to  stay. 
His  arms  are  around  her, 

He  leads  her  away. 

Summer  came,  but  it  brought  no  sunshine  to 
my  home.  Jenny  would  say: 

"Mamma,  why  don't  you  sing?  You  look  so 
sad  and  your  face  looks  so  pale  since  our  Daisy 
died,  and  you  never  go  to  church  any  more." 

I  could  no  longer  stand  the  sight  of  children, 
for  every  time  I  saw  them  the  thought  of  my 
Daisy  being  taken  would  unnerve  me.  I  fell 
away  to  almost  a  skeleton.  I  could  not  rouse 
myself.  I  would  go  to  the  cemetery  three  or 
four  times  a  week  after  Jenny  had  gone  to  bed, 
when  the  evening  was  cool.  I  had  made  a  nice 
garden  in  my  burial  plot  and  when  the  evenings 
were  cool  I  would  sit  there  and  console  myself 
with  the  thought  that  this  one  spot  on  earth  was 


82  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

mine,  and  the  spot  where  all  I  held  dear  was  laid. 
I  would  often  sit  there  until  twelve  o'clock  at 
night  and  go  home  on  the  last  car.  I  was  so 
much  taken  up  with  my  own  sad  thoughts  that 
I  did  not  notice  people  watching  me.  I  always 
wore  a  white  wrapper  and  a  little  black  hat, 
which  I  would  sometimes  carry  in  my  hand  and 
use  it  for  a  fan.  Toward  the  last  I  noticed 
several  people  looking  toward  the  cemetery,  but 
paid  no  attention  to  them.  One  bright  moon 
light  night,  quite  late,  I  was  coming  out,  and 
when  I  got  to  the  gate  two  men  stood  still,  until 
I  opened  it,  when  they  started  on  a  run.  When 
1  got  to  the  corner  there  was  quite  a  crowd  of 
people  there,  and  when  I  came  near  they  got 
out  of  my  way  as  fast  as  possible.  I  stood  still. 
wondering  what  it  could  mean,  when  two  men 
came  halfway  to  meet  me  and  said,  "In  the  name 
of  the  Almighty  what  do  you  want?"  I  said: 

"I  want  nothing  but  my  own.  My  husband 
and  my  children  lie  there  in  the  cemetery  and 
they  are  mine.'* 

One  said: 

"Are  you  flesh  and  blood,  or  are  you  of  the 
spirit?" 

I  said: 

"I  am  like  yourself;  I  belong  to  this  earth." 

I  thought  that  if  I  could  not  go  and  see  my 
dead  darlings'  graves  without  being  taken  for  a 
ghost,  I  had  best  stay  at  home,  so  did  not  go 
again  for  some  time. 

Summer  went  and  winter  came,  but  it  brought 
no  joy  to  my  lonely  home.  I  would  sit  for  hours  at 
a  time  half  dazed,  thinking,  my  senses  far  away. 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  83 

One  day  in  spring  Jenny  came  in  and  said  she 
had  invited  two  little  girls  to  tea,  as  Saturday 
was  her  day  home  from  school.  She  had  seen 
nice  lettuce  in  the  market  and  asked  me  to  get 
some.  It  was  snowing,  so  I  took  my  umbrella 
and  was  on  my  way  to  the  market  when  a  child 
caught  in  a  heavy  door  that  had  been  blown 
shut  by  the  wind.  I  dropped  my  umbrella  and 
ran  to  catch  the  child,  but  was  not  quick  enough 
and  she  was  knocked  senseless.  I  took  the  child 
in  my  arms  and  was  carrying  it  upstairs,  the 
house  being  a  French  flat,  when  a  stout  old  lady 
came  out  of  flat  No.  7  and  said  the  child  be 
longed  to  flat  No.  3.  She  rang  the  bell  of  that 
number,  when  the  mother  came  running  down 
stairs  for  the  child  and  took  it  out  of  my  arms. 
As  a  was  turning  to  go  away,  the  stout  lady 
said  to  me: 

"I  would  like  to  speak  to  you,  if  you  will  just 
step  in  for  a  minute  or  so." 

I  went  in  and  saw  four  old  ladies  sitting 
around  a  table;  one  of  whom  jumped  up  and 
said: 

"Thanks  to  the  good  spirits;  she  has  come 
at  last." 

I  thought  I  was  caught  in  some  trap  and  that 
the  place  was  a  private  mad-house.  I  said: 

"  You  have  the  advantage  of  me;  I  don't  know 
any  of  you." 

One  of  them  said: 

"But  we  have  known  you  for  years,  but  never 
saw  you  before  with  our  natural  eyes.  We  saw 
you  with  our  spiritual  eyes  and  want  to  ask 
you  some  questions  before  you  leave  us."  I 
said: 


84  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

"I  hope  you  will  not  keep  me  long,  as  I  have 
left  my  house  and  three  little  girls  all  alone  in 
it." 

They  asked  me  if  I  was  much  of  my  time 
with  the  sick,  and  if  I  had  ever  noticed  I  had 
much  power  over  them.  I  told  them  it  seemed 
to  come  natural  for  me  to  know  how  to  take 
care  of  them,  and  if  any  of  my  church  people 
were  sick  and  poor  I  always  went  and  helped 
them,  and  was  very  fortunate  in  relieving  their 
ills.  The  stout  lady  came  over  to  me  and  said: 

"I  have  a  daughter  nineteen  years  old,  and 
the  doctors  have  given  her  up.  She  prays  she 
will  pass  away  with  her  senses;  she  has  such 
pains  in  her  head  and  thinks  that  bees  are  sting 
ing  her.  We  are  spiritualists  and  the  spirits 
tell  us  you  can  help  her.  You  must  try,  as  we 
will  not  let  you  go  until  you  see  her."  I  asked 
where  she  was,  and  was  told  they  would  send 
for  a  carriage  and  take  me  to  her.  I  did  not 
want  to  go,  on  account  of  leaving  my  house 
and  the  little  girls  alone.  They  then  sent  for 
a  carriage  to  take  one  of  the  women  to  my 
house,  to  stay  with  the  girls  until  I  came  back. 
They  got  another  carriage  and  took  me  out  to 
Henry  street,  to  a  large  brown  stone  front 
house. 

We  went  upstairs,  and  there  sat  a  most  beau 
tiful  girl,  crying  out,  "O!  my  head!  my  head!" 

I  went  to  her  and  said: 

"I  will  help  you  soon."  I  told  the  carriage 
driver  who  was  in  waiting  to  go  to  the  brewery 
and  get  a  sack  of  malt  that  was  left  after  brew 
ing,  and  when  he  brought  it  I  put  it  in  a  wash 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  85 

boiler  and  put  it  on  the  range,  with  water 
enough  to  make  it  like  thin  mush,  just  hot 
enough  to  bear  my  hand  in  it.  I  then  took  it 
to  her  room,  stripped  her,  put  her  feet  in  it 
and  rubbed  it  all  over  her.  She  had  Bright's 
disease  of  the  kidneys,  and  was  full  of  water, 
and  dropsy  of  the  heart  had  set  in;  the  water 
on  the  brain  caused  the  pain  and  the  light- 
headedness.  I  saw  all  this  as  soon  as  I  saw 
her.  As  I  worked  with  her  the  water  began 
to  ooze  out  through  the  pores  of  her  skin  like 
out  of  small  faucets.  I  did  not  dry  her,  but 
rolled  her  in  a  blanket  and  gave  her  some 
brandy  and  milk.  In  fifteen  minutes  she  was 
fast  asleep  and  the  water  was  all  out  of  her 
system. 

I  knew  it  was  only  temporary  relief  and  that 
she  could  not  live,  and  would  fill  again.  I  went 
home,  and  in  five  days  they  sent  for  me  with  a 
carriage  to  come  at  once.  I  went,  and  I  never 
saw  such  a  beautiful  scene;  one  that  I  shall 
never  forget.  She  lay  in  bed,  and  the  bed  was 
covered  with  flowers  of  great  beauty.  It  was 
in  April,  and  flowers  were  very  expensive,  but 
the  most  costly  were  there.  Women  and  young 
girls  were  kneeling  around  the  bed,  singing  in  a 
low  tone— "The  Sweet  Bye  and  Bye,"  and  Oh! 
so  sweet  and  plaintive! 

When  I  entered,  the  poor,  dying  girl  held  out 
her  hand  to  me  and  said: 

"My  prayers  have  been  granted;  I  have  my 
senses.  Thanks  to  you  for  your  help.  I  hope 
to  meet  you  on  that  beautiful  shore;  join  us." 

I  knelt  down  and  helped  in  the  chant.     She 


86  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

tried  to  sing,  but  could  only  say  "The  sweet 
bye  and  bye,"  and  her  spirit  had  gone  to  that 
beautiful  shore.  I  stood  looking  on  and  think 
ing  how  solemn,  grand  and  beautiful  was  that 
dying  bed.  No  tears  nor  mourning,  but  passing 
away  amidst  hymns,  flowers  and  song. 

I  found  out  that  my  new-made  friend,  the 
mother  of  the  girl  who  had  just  passed  away, 
was  the  great  Madam  Clifford,  the  greatest 
spiritual  medium  of  the  day.  She  clung  to  me 
as  if  I  belonged  to  her.  One  day  I  was  there 
and  she  went  into  a  trance  and  I  was  very  much 
surprised  when  she  described  Captain  Jack  and 
the  clothes  he  was  buried  in,  as  I  knew  she  had 
never  seen  him  and  knew  nothing  about  him. 
But  when  she  told  me  that  I  was  a  Rosicrucian- 
ist,  and  was  born  to  find  hidden  treasures,  my 
thoughts  went  back  to  my  childhood  days,  when 
the  gypsy  queen  had  said  the  same  thing.  This 
was  really  something  I  could  not  understand. 
I  had  many  hours'  talk  with  her  after  that,  and 
tried  to  investigate  how  she  gained  her  knowl 
edge.  But  the  more  I  thought  about  it,  the 
deeper  the  mystery  became  to  me,  and  I  asked 
myself  if  it  were  best  for  us  to  know  our  future; 
or  if  it  would  add  anything  to  our  happiness  to 
try  to  find  out  the  mysteries  of  the  other  world, 
and  leave  the  matter  for  those  to  solve  who 
took  more  interest  in  it  than  I  could. 

I  was  satisfied  in  my  own  mind  that  the  spirit 
could  come  back  to  this  world  again  at  some 
time  or  other  and  that  we  have  spirits  around 
us  all  the  time — either  good  or  evil — and  that 
they  influence  us;  and  in  a  matter  of  justice  our 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  87 

first  impressions  are  always  right;  also,  in  our 
daily  business  transactions,  many  times,  when 
I  speculated  in  real  estate  and  bought  on  the 
first  impressions,  I  always  made  more  money. 
But  if  I  would  stop  to  consider  and  take  advice, 
and  waver  from  first  impressions,  I  was  sure  to 
lose.  So  I  soon  learned  to  use  my  own  brains 
for  my  own  business  and  leave  others  to  do  the 
same. 

I  went  and  had  a  talk  with  my  attorneys, 
who  I  must  confess  were  quite  an  exception  to 
the  general  run  of  attorneys,  were  good  and 
honorable  gentlemen — Riley  &  Wineberg,  of 
Brooklyn — and  told  them  I  thought  of  going 
West,  and  putting  my  little  girl  in  a  good  board 
ing  school,  so  I  set  about  getting  ready  to  start, 
and  in  a  week  had  everything  ready.  I  went 
to  my  sister-in-law,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Quacken- 
bosh,  and  asked  her  to  look  after  my  Jenny. 
Then  I  went  to  Denver.  When  I  got  there 
early  in  the  morning  I  went  in  search  of  a  res 
taurant.  The  postoffice  was  on  Fifteenth  and 
Larimer  streets,  and  after  wandering  about  for 
more  than  an  hour  I  got  into  a  restaurant  on 
Holiday  street,  and  while  I  was  getting  my 
breakfast  colored  men  began  to  come  in  and 
I  saw  that  I  was  in  a  negro  dive.  I  paid  the 
50  cents  they  charged,  then  went  away  to  the 
outskirts  of  town  on  Champa  street,  where  I 
found  two  nice  rooms  situated  between  Fif 
teenth  and  Sixteenth  streets.  The  next  door 
was  a  laundry  with  a  50 -foot  lot  and  they  wanted 
me  to  buy  it  for  $250.  A  few  days  afterward 
while  walking  down  Sixteenth  street  some  one 
shouted  *  'Captain  Jack!'* 


88  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

I  turned  to  see  whom  it  could  be  when  a  lady 
very  handsomely  dressed  came  toward  me  with 
extended  hand.  I  did  not  recognize  her  as 
anyone  I  had  ever  met  before,  but  she  said, 
"You  don't  remember  your  nurse-girl,  Jennie?" 

I  said,  "Well,  you  do  not  look  like  the  same 
girl,  but  I  am  glad  you  have  married  so  well, 
for  judging  by  your  dress  your  husband  must 
be  a  wealthy  man." 

She  walked  to  my  rooms  with  me  and  I  told 
her  of  the  captain's  death  and  my  losses,  saying 
I  thought  of  going  to  Leadville.  She  advised 
me  not  to  go  there,  but  to  go  to  a  new  valley 
being  opened  by  the  government,  an  Indian 
reservation  named  Gunnison.  She  said  there 
were  so  many  chances  to  make  money  there  that 
I  decided  to  follow  her  advice,  when  my  week 
was  up  at  my  room,  as  I  had  paid  the  rent  in 
advance.  Then  Jennie  left  me,  saying  that  she 
would  return  the  next  day  to  tell  me  something. 
I  waited  until  she  came  and  then  she  told  me  a 
sad  story.  She  had  married  after  leaving  me. 
Her  husband,  after  a  few  months,  began  to  stay 
out  at  night  and  would  beat  her  when  he  came 
home.  One  time  she  followed  him  to  see  where 
he  spent  his  nights  and  discovered  that  he  was 
frequenting  a  large  sporting  house.  Jennie  got 
in  the  back  yard  and  saw  her  husband  with  his 
girl  all  love  and  smiles. 

When  he  came  home  he  greeted  his  wife  with 
curses  and  blows  and  for  many  days  practic 
ally  drove  her  to  starvation.  Then  she  said, 
"So  this  is  the  reward  of  a  true,  virtuous  wife. 
Men  leave  their  wives  for  these  painted,  lying 


women.' 


THE    FATE   OF   A    FAIRY  89 

Then  she  fell  on  her  knees  and  prayed  God 
to  forgive  her,  and  with  uplifted  hands  swore 
she  would  enter  a  sporting  house  and  wreck  the 
life  of  every  man  she  could  to  avenge  the  wrong 
that  had  been  done  her,  and  it  was  the  big  swell 
house  of  Madame  Clara  Dumont  on  Holiday 
street  she  entered. 

''Now/'  she  said,  "men  come  to  my  house  all 
smiles  with  their  money  and  when  their  cash 
is  gone  they  are  politely  shown  to  the  door." 

She  asked  me  to  come  and  see  her  before  I 
left.  It  was  nearing  dusk  when  I  entered  a 
fine  appearing  house  on  Holiday  street.  The 
lights  were  burning  brightly,  and  when  I  rang 
the  bell  a  man  in  white  jacket  and  apron  opened 
the  door.  He  seemed  surprised  when  I  told 
him  I  wanted  to  see  the  madame,  for  I  had  for 
gotten  the  name  she  told  me.  When  he  asked 
my  name  I  was  in  a  predicament,  for  I  did  not 
want  anyone  to  know  that  I  had  entered  the 
place.  So  I  replied,  "Tell  the  madame  I  am 
the  lady  from  New  York  who  is  going  West." 

He  left  me  standing  in  the  hall  and  went  up 
stairs.  In  a  moment  Jennie  came  running 
down  to  me  and  took  me  to  her  rooms.  She 
had  nine  ladies,  as  she  called  them,  summoned 
to  the  room  and  to  them  she  imparted  the  secret 
of  who  I  was.  She  told  them  that  I  was  her 
mistress  before  she  was  married,  and  they  cer 
tainly  did  act  like  ladies.  They  did  not 
utter  one  vulgar  word.  I  asked  Jennie  if  they 
got  tipsy  and  she  replied,  "Only  when  they  are 
blowing  in  the  suckers  for  fizz  at  $5  a  bottle." 

I    did    not   quite   understand    her,    but   re- 


90  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

mained  silent  and  left.  When  I  got  outside 
and  looked  at  the  brightly  lighted  house  with 
the  piano  music,  and  where  all  was  life  and 
gayety,  and  as  I  wandered  in  the  dark  to  my 
room  I  thought,  "Here  are  mistress  and  maid 
both  alone  in  the  west,  one  the  rich  owner  of  a 
house  of  pleasure  and  gayety  and  the  mistress 
a  homeless  wanderer."  Gazing  at  the  stars 
above  me  I  asked,  "What  shall  I  do  for  the  best, 
and  what  will  be  my  fate  in  these  mighty  moun 
tains?  Speak,  and  tell  me,  I  pray  thee." 


THE   FATE   OF   A    FAIRY  91 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ON  inquiry  I  found  out  that  I  could  not 
leave  until  the  next  day,  as  the  stage  had 
already  gone,  so  I  sat  watching  the  strange 
people,  when  I  saw  all  of  them  running  to  where 
two  men  stood  with  duck  coats  and  leggins  on 
and  belts  with  cartridges  and  guns  in  their  belts. 
As  I  turned  to  see  what  it  was,  the  men  pulled 
their  guns  and  both  seemed  to  fire  at  the  same 
time.  Both  fell  dead,  and  the  ghastly  look  on 
their  faces  was  terrible.  Curley  Frank  was  the 
name  of  the  youngest,  and  he  was  a  finely  built 
and  handsome  man,  with  a  fine  education,  and 
the  son  of  a  minister  ;the  other  was  a  finely  built 
man.  I  learned  by  inquiry  that  he  was  at  least 
ten  years  older  than  the  other,  and  had  a  vicious 
look  on  his  face.  Though  handsome,  they  were 
both  faro  dealers,  and  as  the  men  fell  there  was  a 
piercing  shriek,  and  a  small  woman  with  red 
stockings  on  flung  herself  on  the  body  of  Curley 
Frank  and  sobbed  bitterly.  Some  of  the  men 
pulled  her  away  so  the  officers  could  take  charge 
of  the  body.  The  woman  was  living  with  the 
man  and  was  a  dance  hall  girl.  The  officers 
hailed  an  express  wagon  and  one  grabbed  a  man 
by  the  collar  and  the  other  by  the  legs  and  threw 
them  in  the  wagon  as  though  they  were  logs  of 
wood,  and  it  was  not  more  than  fifteen  minutes 
from  the  shooting  till  the  music  and  the  yelps  of 
the  gamblers  were  going  on  as  if  nothing  had 


92  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

happened.  I  went  into  the  place  they  called  a 
hotel,  which  was  a  rough  board  building,  and  as 
there  was  no  one  in  the  waiting  room  I  took  the 
only  rocking  chair  there  was  and  sat  by  the 
window  and  thought  this  is  what  I  have  so 
many  times  wondered.  What  did  become  of 
doctors',  lawyers'  and  ministers'  children,  for  as 
a  rule  they  live  up  to  every  cent  they  get,  and 
have  a  servant  to  pin  a  napkin  on  them  at  the 
table,  give  them  as  good  an  education  as  they 
can,  then  put  up  their  hands  and  say: 

"Well,  I  have  done  well  by  my  children,  for  I 
have  given  them  a  good  education  and  brought 
them  up  to  be  good  men  or  women,"  then  turn 
them  out  on  the  world  without  a  trade  or  a  pro 
fession  or  a  cent  to  start  with  and  expect  the 
girl  to  get  a  rich  husband  and  the  boys  to  get 
rich  by  their  wits.  Poor,  foolish  mothers !  if  they 
had  beaten  it  into  their  brains  that  they  had  to 
get  their  own  living  and  took  them  out  of  school 
in  their  teens  and  put  them  to  whatever  their 
own  minds  led  to,  what  a  different  life  they  would 
live!  For  they  read  novels  and  wander  out  West, 
thinking  they  can  find  gold  anywhere,  and  when 
they  get  there  they  find  they  can  get  nothing 
without  money  to  pay  for  it,  and  that  smart 
people  have  been  there  before  them  and  have 
played  every  trick  on  the  western  people,  as 
there  is  not  a  game  thought  of  that  has  not  al 
ready  been  played;  then  there  is  nothing  left 
for  them  but  gambling  or  playing  tin  horn  or 
being  kept  by  the  red  stockinged  women,  for  they 
will  not  work  and  pay  $1  for  a  cot  to  sleep  on 
when  there  are  three  other  women  in  the  room. 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  93 

Before  I  went  to  bed  I  took  a  walk  up  the  street. 
There  were  tents  instead  of  houses  and  I  had  not 
gotten  very  far  when  a  man  with  a  light  broad- 
rimmed  hat  and  a  large,  blood  red  silk  handker 
chief  tied  around  his  neck  and  a  belt  with  cart 
ridges  and  a  big  gun  in  it  came  up  to  me  and 
said,  "Well,  when  did  you  come  to  town?"  I 
said: 

"You  are  mistaken.    You  do  not  know  me." 

He  said: 

"We'll  be  westerners.  It  does  not  take  long 
to  get  acquainted  and  you  are  just  what  I  want, 
for  you  are  a  fairy,  a  beauty,  by  golly,  and  I 
can  draw  the  crowd  with  a  beauty  like  you  in 
my  dancehall,  and  I  will  do  better  by  you  than 
them  other  fellows,  so  come  in  here  and  I  will 
set  up  a  bottle  of  fiz  on  the  strength  of  it." 

I  turned  around  quickly  and  began  to  walk 
rapidly  towards  the  hotel.  He  kept  up  with 
me  and  we  got  in  the  front  of  a  tent  with 
music  and  a  man  yelling  out  the  dance  calls. 
He  took  hold  of  my  hand  and  said : 

"This  is  my  place;  come  in." 

I  jerked  away  and  answered: 

"Keep  your  hands  off  of  me  or  I  will  blow  them 
off  with  this." 

And  I  whipped  out  a  .44.  He  stood  as  though 
he  had  been  struck  with  lightning,  and  I  went 
as  fast  as  I  could,  without  running,  to  the  hotel. 
I  had  forgotten  about  my  blonde  hair  and  my 
fair  skin,  for  it  always  attracted  attention  in 
London  and  in  Paris.  I  was  ashamed.  As 
soon  as  I  got  to  the  hotel  I  went  to  my  cot  and 
tossed  till  near  morning,  for  the  mattress  was 


94  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

hard  hay,  and  lumpy,  and  it  seemed  I  had  only 
just  fallen  asleep  when  we  were  called  up  for  the 
stage  and  had  to  start  early.  So  I  got  a  cup  of 
coffee  and  two  pancakes  and  was  charged  75 
cents  for  my  breakfast,  and  as  I  stood  on  the 
porch  waiting  for  the  stage,  the  man  with  the 
red  handkerchief  came  along  with  two  other  men, 
and  as  soon  as  he  saw  me  he  said  to  the  men : 

"That  is  the  dry  goods  I  was  telling  you  about, 
with  the  fire  of  the  sun,  with  the  nerve  of  the 
merry  devil  in  her,  by  golly." 

Then  the  stage  came  up  and  I  lost  no  time  in 
getting  in.  There  were  three  men  and  I  in  the 
four-horse  stage  when  the  driver  cracked  his 
whip  and  away  we  went.  We  had  not  gone 
very  far  when  I  found  out  that  one  of  the  men 
was  from  Alamosa  and  Alva  Adams,  hardware 
merchant,  who  was  afterward  Governor  of  Col 
orado  and  he  had  started  a  hardware  store  in 
Gunnison.  His  man  had  two  very  heavy  satchels, 
and  he  said  they  were  full  of  guns  and 
cartridges. 

The  passengers  were  allowed  fifty  pounds  of 
baggage  and  had  to  pay  10  cents  per  pound  for 
all  over  that,  and  as  I  had  two  large  trunks  I 
was  held  up  in  good  shape.  We  were  in  deep 
snow  and  it  was  near  noon,  but  there  was  not  a 
sign  of  any  house  where  we  could  get  a  lunch, 
when  one  of  the  men  said  we  should  have  brought 
a  lunch  with  us,  for  it  was  after  twelve  o'clock 
now.  I  was  nearly  starving  and  it  was  after  one 
o'clock  when  we  saw  a  log  place  which  looked 
like  an  old  stable.  The  driver  cracked  his  whip 
and  stopped  and  three  dirty  little  children  came 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  95 

out  and  a  dark,  dirty  looking  man  said  dinner 
would  be  ready  in  ten  minutes.  When  we  went 
in  there  was  fried  ham,  a  dish  of  potatoes,  a  can 
of  stewed  tomatoes,  dried  apple  pie,  and  such 
poor  coffee,  but  we  were  all  hungry  and  we  had 
to  pay  75  cents  apiece.  Then  the  driver  came 
with  fresh  horses  and  a  sleigh,  and  he  told  us 
we  were  going  over  the  Cotton  Wood  Pass,  and 
the  dirty  man  said,  "Yes,  and  you  had  better 
look  after  what  you  have  of  value,  for  yester 
day's  sleigh  was  held  up.  No  one  was  killed, 
but  they  beat  two  men  passengers  up  pretty 
badly." 

And  we  had  not  got  far  when  the  man  opened 
his  satchel  and  took  out  three  guns  and  loaded 
them,  and  said  to  the  other  two  men : 

"If  anyone  comes,  you  two  grab  one  of  them." 

Then  he  turned  to  me  and  said : 

"Do  not  get  frightened  at  the  sight  of  those 
guns,  but  we  must  be  prepared." 

I  said : 

"I  came  prepared,"  and  took  out  a  Smith  & 
Wesson  Blue  Jacket  double  action  .44.  I  said^ 
"I  will  not  be  held  up,  and  if  you  get  one  I  will 
get  two  of  them." 

The  men  clapped  their  hands  and  said : 

"You  are  a  brick,  and  if  they  come  at  us  they 
will  catch  a  snag." 

We  were  going  up  a  hill  all  the  way  and  the 
passes  were  white  with  snow,  and  it  was  getting 
late  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  driver  said : 

"I  am  afraid  we  cannot  make  it,  for  the  horses 
are  giving  out." 

I  jumped  over  the  seat  to  the  front  and  said: 


96  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

"Give  me  the  lines  and  all  of  you  get  out  and 
break  the  snow  ahead  of  the  horses,"  as  it  had 
been  a  heavy  fall  of  snow  all  night  and  the  road 
was  blocked.  It  seemed  as  though  the  horses 
knew,  for  I  gave  them  their  own  time  and  it  took 
us  two  and  one-half  hours  to  get  to  the  top  of  the 
summit,  which  was  less  than  a  mile,  but  when  I 
saw  the  deep  place  we  had  to  go  down,  I  was 
very  glad  to  let  the  driver  take  the  lines,  and  I 
got  back  to  my  seat  again,  for  it  was  getting  dark 
and  we  were  in  heavy  timber  and  snow,  and 
could  not  see  anything  else.  It  was  getting  very 
cold.  We  kept  on  going  for  over  three  hours, 
and  it  was  pitch  dark  when  we  saw  a  faint  light 
ahead,  and  when  we  got  to  it  it  was  a  man  swing 
ing  a  lantern.  He  got  in  the  sleigh  and  said : 

"You  are  late.  I  thought  those  red  devils 
had  held  you  up  as  they  did  last  night.'* 

We  soon  got  to  a  log  cabin  and  it  was  clean, 
and  we  had  a  very  nice  supper  with  venison  steak 
and  nice  hot  biscuit.  In  one  corner  of  the  room 
was  a  bunk  with  a  curtain  all  around  it,  and  the 
woman  said  I  was  to  sleep  there,  and  as  soon  as  the 
men  went  out  I  went  to  bed  and  slept  soundly 
until  daylight,  and  the  next  morning  when  the 
woman  called  me,  I  dressed  on  the  bed  behind 
the  curtains,  for  the  men  had  already  come  in 
the  room  to  get  warm,  as  it  was  very  cold,  and 
when  I  went  to  the  door  and  looked  out  there 
was  nothing  but  beautiful  green  trees  and  snow 
as  far  as  I  could  see  for  miles  in  every  direction. 

Breakfast  over,  I  asked  for  my  bill,  which  was 
$3  for  bed,  supper  and  breakfast.  We  all  got  in 
the  sleigh  and  away  we  went  till  noon,  when  the 


MRS.   CAPTAIN  JACK  AT  HER  CAMP. 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  97 

driver  stopped  at  a  log  cabin.  It  was  another 
driver.  We  had  dinner  there  too  rank  to  men 
tion.  Seventy-five  cents  was  the  price  of  it. 
The  driver  said  we  would  have  a  tough  time 
getting  to  Saquache  that  night,  for  the  snow  was 
so  deep,  and  when  we  started  the  scenery  was 
grand.  The  sun  had  melted  some  of  the  snow 
on  the  evergreens  and  it  looked  like  thousands 
of  diamonds  as  the  sun  rainbowed  the  icicles 
and  they  threw  rays  of  every  color.  No  one  can 
imagine  the  wild  beauty  of  these  mountains, 
and  the  stillness  added  to  the  reverence  I  had 
for  them.  I  had  paid  no  attention  to  the  con 
versation  of  the  men  until  the  driver  said,  "this 
is  Noscuter  Pass,  and  the  snow  that  fell  last  night 
has  blocked  the  road  and  we  shall  have  to  shovel 
a  road : 

I  said: 

"Give  me  the  lines." 

When  I  looked  at  the  horses  they  were  white 
with  foam.  There  were  only  two  shovels  in  the 
sleigh,  so  the  others  went  ahead  stamping  the 
snow.  It  was  getting  very  cold  and  the  sun  was 
beginning  to  get  behind  the  mountains,  when  we 
heard  a  terrible  screech.  I  said: 

"What  is  that?" 

The  driver  said: 

"Wolves.  Darn  them,  they  think  they  are 
going  to  have  a  horse  for  supper  tonight." 

It  seemed  as  though  we  never  could  go  a  mile. 
The  men  changed  shoveling  and  it  was  dark. 
The  wolves  kept  up  their  terrible  howling  and  I 
thought  I  would  freeze.  Then  the  wind  started 
up  and  blew  a  hurricane  and  blew  the  snow  off 

7 


98  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

the  trees  and  all  over  us  and  the  sleigh.  The 
horses  would  go  a  few  steps  and  then  stop. 
Such  a  change  in  such  a  short  time  seemed 
almost  impossible.  It  was  pitch  dark  when  we 
got  to  the  top  and  the  moaning  of  the  wind,  the 
noise  of  the  timbers  and  the  howling  of  the 
coyotes  and  wolves  was  something  terrible. 

The  men  got  in  and  the  driver  took  the  lines, 
but  the  horses  did  not  go  fast,  for  the  snow  was 
too  deep  and  it  seemed  we  were  hours  in  getting 
down  the  mountain.  Then  we  had  to  go  ten 
miles  farther,  but  when  we  saw  a  light  at  a  dis 
tance  the  men  shouted  with  joy,  and  I  was  never 
so  glad  to  see  a  little  light  in  all  my  life. 

We  drove  up  to  the  adobe  house  where  a  lamp 
burning  on  the  porch  and  the  dogs  began  to  bark 
till  a  little  old  man,  German  in  his  talk,  said: 

"Mine  Got,  it  is  near  three  o'clock.  I  thought 
you  would  not  start  after  such  a  storm. "  The 
men  said: 

4  *  Have  you  got  any  liquor  ?    We  are  freezing . ' ' 

He  brought  us  a  bottle  and  glasses  and  I  took 
a  big  drink,  for  I  was  numb  with  the  cold.  There 
was  a  big  stove  in  the  room  and  it  soon  got  hot. 
Then  my  feet  began  to  burn.  I  tried  to  get  my 
boots  off,  but  couldn't,  so  had  to  get  one  of  the 
men  to  cut  them  off,  for  my  feet  were  swelling 
awfully  and  the  pain  was  fierce.  When  the 
women  came  they  said  that  my  feet  were  frozen, 
and  to  take  them  away  from  the  fire.  They 
went  and  got  something  to  put  on  them  and 
wrapped  them  up.  The  pain  made  the  tears 
roll  down  my  cheeks.  They  got  us  a  cold  lunch 
and  gave  me  a  good  bed,  but  in  a  cold  room.  I 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  99 

went  to  bed,  but  could  not  sleep  with  the  pain 
in  my  feet. 

When  the  stage  was  ready  I  could  not  go,  for  I 
could  not  get  my  boots  on,  and  the  store  was  not 
open,  and  my  trunks  were  left  behind  for  the 
freight  wagons  to  bring.  So  when  it  got  a  little 
warmer  I  sent  to  the  store  for  some  shoes  and  got 
a  pair  two  sizes  larger  than  my  own,  but  my  feet 
were  very  sore  and  burnt.  I  went  up  the 
street  and  was  surprised  to  see  most  of  the  people 
were  Mexicans;  all  the  houses  were  adobe,  all 
the  women  wore  shawls  over  their  heads,  and  I 
noticed  that  some  children  and  two  women  fol 
lowed  me.  I  went  to  the  only  store  there  was  in 
town.  They  had  everything  in  it,  and  after  I 
had  made  a  few  purchases  I  said  to  the  man: 

"What  are  those  people  watching  me  for? 
Are  they  safe?"  He  laughed  and  said: 

''They  are  as  harmless  as  doves,  but  they 
have  never  seen  such  light  hair  nor  anyone  so 
fair,  and  they  do  not  know  what  to  make  of  it." 

I  went  back  to  the  hotel,  went  to  bed  and  was 
awakened  by  shouts;  it  was  near  dark.  I  went 
to  see  about  getting  my  supper  when  the  land 
lady  said:  "The  sleigh  is  in,  for  your  sleigh 
broke  the  road  for  this  outfit,  and  I  miss  my 
guess  if  there  is  not  a  devil  of  a  time  when  the 
stage  gets  in  Gunnison  tomorrow,  for  there  are 
two  Pinkerton  detectives  on  the  sleigh  and  two 
came  in  with  you  last  night." 

I  said,  "What  for?" 

She  said: 

"There  is  a  large  reward  for  some  of  the  boys 
in  Gunnison  and  you  bet  they  get  them  dead  or 
alive." 


100  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

And  she  turned  to  me  and  said: 

"You  must  have  grit  to  come  on  such  a  trip 
and  all  alone,  for  some  of  those  dance-hall  men 
would  not  stop  at  anything  to  get  such  a  fair 
creature  as  you/' 

I  said: 

"I  do  not  fear  man  or  devil;  it  is  not  in  my 
blood,  and  if  they  can  shoot  any  straighter  or 
quicker  than  I,  let  them  try  it,  for  a  .44  equalizes 
frail  woman  and  brute  man,  and  all  women 
ought  to  be  able  to  protect  themselves  against 
such  ruffians." 

I  got  my  supper  and  sat  in  the  little  parlor 
watching  the  people  on  the  outside.  All  that 
I  could  see,  for  the  town  was  not  light  and  some 
of  the  men  had  come  to  get  what  news  there  was 
after  the  sleigh  had  come  in,  were  two  men 
smoking  cigars  and  walking  up  and  down  the 
porch,  and  when  the  porch  was  cleared  one  of  the 
men  said: 

"Yes,  we  must  take  no  chances  with  the 
damned  cop,  for  he  is  a  dead  shot  and  we  must 
get  the  drop  on  him.  But  how  about  that  other 
outfit?  they  are  ahead  of  us.  Well,  we  had 
better  not  know  each  other,  we  must  be  strangers 
and  go  around  in  different  directions.  Those 
dance-hall  girls  will  be  the  best  if  there  are  any 
up  there.  So  you  look  after  them  and  I  will  see 
what  comes  to  my  net." 

I  went  in  and  told  the  landlady  to  be  sure  to 
get  me  up  in  time  to  take  the  stage  the  next 
morning,  and  went  to  bed,  as  the  sleighs  went 
no  farther.  We  had  a  new  driver  and  a  new 
stage  the  next  morning  when  we  started.  It 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  101 

was  a  clear,  cold  morning  and  there  were  four 
men  passengers.  I  took  a  look  at  them  before  I 
took  my  seat,  and  one  rough  young  man,  very 
fine  looking,  who  looked  like  a  cowboy,  said: 

''Here,  miss,  is  a  seat  in  the  back,  and  those 
chaps  in  the  front  will  break  the  wind  off  of 
you,"  as  the  stage  was  open  and  four  horses  in 
the  front.  So  we  started,  but  the  detectives 
took  different  seats  and  sat  with  the  driver.  I 
was  charmed  with  the  scenery,  and  the  young 
man  tried  to  draw  me  out  by  inquiring  if  I  had 
any  friends  in  Gunnison,  or  what  was  my  busi 
ness,  and  it  did  not  seem  long  until  noon. 

We  stopped  at  a  log  cabin  for  dinner.  The 
same  old  thing — ham,  potatoes,  tomatoes;  75 
cents. 

We  had  been  on  our  way  two  hours  or  more. 
I  said  to  the  man: 

"We  will  be  in  Gunnison  tonight." 

He  said : 

4 'Oh!  no;  we  will  not  get  further  than  Coche- 
pota  pass  tonight,  and  it  will  not  be  daylight 
when  we  get  there." 

I  found  out  that  he  was  a  cowboy,  going  to  a 
large  cattle  ranch  in  Gunnison.  He  was  very 
polite  in  his  way,  and  told  me  many  things  of  the 
West.  It  was  now  near  dark.  We  met  a  man 
walking  with  a  large  bundle  and  a  rope  around 
his  body.  I  said : 

"Where  has  that  man  come  from,  and  what 
has  he  on  his  back?" 

He  said: 

"That  is  the  way  the  mining  men  travel  when 
they  have  their  bedding  on  their  backs  and  their 


102  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

hats  on.  They  have  all  their  possessions  with 
them,  and  their  home  is  wherever  the  night 
finds  them.  He  has  tramped  from  Siwatche 
and  is  making  for  the  same  stopping  place  we  are ; 
he  is  what  we  call  a  prospector;  he  goes  and 
hunts  mines  and  as  soon  as  he  finds  a  vein  that 
shows  up  good,  he  will  sell  it  for  a  few  hundred, 
then  the  men  who  buy  it  sometimes  make  mil 
lions  out  of  the  mine.  The  men  that  find  the 
mine  very  seldom  get  much  out  of  it." 

We  went  a  few  miles  farther,  then  stopped  at  a 
log  cabin  for  the  night.  They  had  a  very  nice 
supper,  venison  and  nice  hot  biscuit,  and  as  soon 
as  supper  was  over  I  went  to  bed,  for  my  feet 
burned  so  badly  that  I  could  hardly  bear  them. 
I  did  not  go  to  sleep  for  a  long  time,  and  it 
seemed  I  had  not  been  asleep  long  when  I  was 
wakened  by  a  lot  of  men  quarrelling,  shouting 
and  cursing;  they  kept  it  up  till  near  daylight, 
and  when  I  asked  the  woman  the  next  morning 
what  the  men  were  quarrelling  about,  she  looked 
at  me  and  said : 

"You  must  be  a  tenderfoot,  or  you  would  not 
ask  such  a  question,  for  what  would  they  quarrel 
over  but  a  game  of  poker  and  too  much  booze  ?" 

After  breakfast  I  went  outside  to  wait  for  the 
stage,  and  the  first  person  I  saw  was  the  tramp 
who  had  been  sleeping  in  the  stable,  and  he  was 
half  drunk,  for  they  sold  whisky  at  this  place. 

The  stage  came  in  and  I  got  in  the  back  part, 
for  they  changed  stages  and  drivers  at  every 
day's  drive,  and  soon  the  cowboy  came  and  sat 
beside  me,  and  as  he  took  his  seat  two  men  that 
came  out  of  the  barroom  shook  their  fists  at  him 
and  said : 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  103 

"Oh!  we  see  why  you  would  not  drink  liquor." 

Then  we  started  and  heard  no  more,  but  by 
the  conversation  I  learned  that  the  cowboy  won 
over  $200  and  he  did  not  drink  a  drop  of  liquor. 

We  went  sailing  along  till  noon,  then  came  to  a 
two-story  outbuilding  which  looked  like  a  farm 
house,  and  as  we  stopped  a  lot  of  men  came  out 
and  shouted,  "Reaby  or  bust!" 

This  was  Parlin;  we  had  dinner  there,  and 
such  fine  mountain  trout  I  never  tasted.  The 
fish  were  speckled  trout,  and  harder,  solider  and 
sweeter  fish  never  lived  in  water.  All  the  talk 
was  mines  in  Reaby,  but  they  could  not  get  at 
that  for  the  snow,  and  as  we  were  waiting  for 
the  stage  a  very  handsome  young  man  came  and 
lifted  his  hat  and  said : 

"I  am  afraid  you  will  have  a  hard  time  to  find 
a  place  to  stop,  for  every  place  is  so  crowded  with 
men  waiting  to  get  in  Reaby."  Then  the  cow 
boy  said: 

"I  will  see  that  she  gets  a  place  all  O.  K." 

Then  we  started  and  went  up  a  most  beautiful 
valley  overlooking  a  stream  of  clear,  crystal, 
bubbling  water;  this  was  the  Tomiche  river, 
with  sloping  mountains  on  both  sides  of  the 
valley,  covered  with  all  kinds  of  evergreen  trees ; 
the  grass  was  green  and  full  of  wild  flowers — 
such  beauty  of  nature  can  never  be  told. 

We  went  sailing  along  this  valley  till  it  was 
getting  dark,  when  we  came  in  sight  of  what 
looked  like  a  military  camp  of  tents,  then  the 
men  shouted: 

"Gunnison  at  last,  by  golly!" 

We  drove  up  to  the  only  two-story  building, 


104  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

of  rough  green  lumber,  and  not  get  finished. 
This  was  the  Gunnison  House,  the  only  hotel 
in  town,  and  as  the  stage  stopped  there  were 
crowds  of  men  who  came  to  see  who  were  on  the 
stage,  and  nearly  all  had  on  buckskin  suits,  hats 
and  belts  with  cartridges  and  guns  in  them,  and 
cowboys'  leather  bands  around  their  hats; 
nearly  all  seemed  to  have  a  mouthful  of  tobacco, 
and  seemed  to  try  who  could  chew  the  hardest, 
but  they  were  a  finely  built,  hardy  looking  set 
of  men. 

The  cowboy  turned  to  me  arid  said: 

"I  will  pass  you  off  as  a  relation,  as  it  will 
save  you  a  great  deal  of  annoyance.  What  is 
your  name?" 

I  said: 

''Ellen  E.  Jack,  of  New  York." 

He  said : 

"My  name  is  Hall  Greenleaf,  but  call  me  Hall, 
as  I  am  known  by  that  name/' 

He  took  me  into  the  little  waiting  room  and 
the  landlady  came  in ;  then  he  said : 

"This  is  a  relation  of  mine,  Mrs.  Jack,  and  she 
wants  to  stay  a  day  or  two  till  she  can  look 
around." 

The  woman  said : 

"I  have  no  place  for  ladies.  Bull  Pen  is 
crowded  both  day  and  night,  for  the  gamblers 
sleep  in  the  daytime  and  the  prospectors  at 
night." 

"Is  there  any  place  that  I  can  get  for  her  to 
sleep,  and  she  can  come  here  for  her  meals  ?" 

"No,  but  I  will  let  her  sleep  on  this  lounge 
for  a  night  or  two.  It  will  be  $1  a  night." 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  105 

"All  right/'  I  said,  and  took  off  my  cloak. 

She  said : 

'Tut  your  satchel  under  the  lounge,  and  if 
you  have  anything  of  value  in  it,  take  it  out 
and  hide  it  on  yourself,  as  this  is  a  very  rough 
place." 

I  had  diamonds  and  government  bonds  sewed 
up  in  my  bustle  and  had  nothing  of  value  in  the 
satchel.  She  brought  me  two  old  quilts  and  a 
dirty  pillow  with  no  case  on  it,  and  told  me  I 
had  better  not  take  all  my  clothes  off,  as  the 
place  was  in  such  a  state  of  excitement,  and  at 
nights  it  was  the  worst.  So  I  loosened  my 
corset,  took  off  my  shoes  and  garters  and  lay 
down,  but  not  to  sleep,  for  of  all  the  noises,  all 
night  long,  I  never  heard  worse.  Stamping  up 
and  down  the  stairs,  throwing  their  heavy  boots 
down  on  the  uncovered  floor,  music  going  on 
on  both  sides  of  the  house,  and  the  gamblers 
yelling  their  games  out,  they  being  in  tents, 
was  as  bad  as  being  outdoors.  I  had  heard  of 
Bedlam,  but  this  beat  that  place. 

At  daylight  she  opened  the  inner  door  and 
told  me  to  get  up,  as  she  had  to  use  that  room 
for  offices  as  well  as  waiting  room,  so  I  was 
soon  ready  to  let  the  people  in  the  office,  but  I 
had  to  wait  till  near  nine  o'clock  before  I  could 
get  my  breakfast.  Then  I  went  out  to  see  the 
town.  I  went  back  of  the  hotel,  where  there 
were  some  small  tents,  thinking  I  might  rent 
one  till  I  knew  what  I  was  going  to  do,  and  as 
I  got  near  the  second  one  I  stood  still,  uncer 
tain  in  which  one  to  go,  and  turning  around  to 
go  to  the  first,  a  gun  shot  bore  a  hole  through 


106  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

my  cloak  and  two  more  shots  went  close  by  me 
and  into  the  tent.  Then  a  man  came  out  in 
his  drawers  and  shirt,  with  gun  in  hand,  and  he 
was  covered  with  blood.  He  gave  me  such  a 
piercing  look  that  I  fired.  Then  there  was  a  vol 
ley  of  shots.  The  man  fell  and  the  two  detectives 
ran  to  him  and  said: 

"Damn  you,  we  have  got  you  at  last." 

The  dying  man  said: 

"You  have  used  a  fair  decoy  to  catch  me." 

The  two  men  said: 

"No,  but  we  guess  she  was  coming  to  give 
you  the  tip." 

I  said: 

"You  are  both  mistaken.  The  landlady  at 
the  hotel  told  me  I  might  rent  one  of  these 
tents.  That  was  what  brought  me  here,  and 
now  you  have  got  this  poor  unfortunate  man. 
Do  not  hurt  him  any  more.  For  he  is  a  dying 


man." 


I  went  up  to  him,  for  I  could  see  the  two  men 
were  afraid  to  go  nearer  as  long  as  he  had  life 
and  a  gun  in  his  hands. 

I  said: 

"Give  me  your  gun." 

He  nodded  his  head,  and  as  I  stooped  to  take 
it  he  tried  to  tell  me  something.  By  this  time 
there  were  crowds  of  men  and  they  shouted, 
"They  have  got  Wild  Bill!"  and  "Where  did  he 
get  that  fair  gal  from?"  But  as  soon  as  I  had 
his  gun  in  my  hand  the  two  men  came  up  and 
said: 

"We  hold  you  as  witness  that  we  got  him 
first." 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  107 

The  poor  man  was  not  quite  dead  and  I  was 
still  on  my  knees,  stroking  his  head  and  face, 
when  he  opened  his  eyes  so  pitiful. 

I  said: 

"Father  in  heaven,  forgive  him,  for  we  know 
not  what  hardship  drove  him  to  commit  the 
misdeeds  that  have  caused  his  death.'* 

He  tried  to  speak,  but  gave  a  shiver,  closed 
his  eyes  and  was  dead. 

I  got  up  with  the  gun  in  my  hand.  One  of 
the  men  said: 

"Give  me  that  gun." 

I  said: 

"No.  He  gave  me  the  gun,  for  you  were 
too  big  a  coward  to  get  it,  and  you  shall  never 
have  it." 

When  I  turned  to  go,  Hall  was  close  to  me 
and  he  shouted: 

"The  gun  was  a  dying  gift  to  this  lady  and  it 
is  hers.  What  say  you,  boys." 

All  shouted: 

"The  man  who  tries  to  take  it  shall  pass  in 
his  chips  quicker  than  Bill  did." 

These  two  men  had  watched  him  all  night 
and  had  waited  till  they  were  sure  he  was 
asleep  and  when  they  saw  me  going  and  were 
uncertain  about  the  tent,  they  thought  I  was 
going  to  warn  him  of  them.  Then  they  began 
to  fire  in  the  tent,  for  they  knew  just  where  he 
slept,  and  they  shot  him  in  the  back,  and 
another  bullet  struck  the  side  of  his  head,  and 
that  was  what  covered  him  with  blood. 

Hall  took  my  arm  and  we  got  out  of  the 
crowd  and  went  off  the  main  street  when  he 
said: 


108  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

"I  have  been  looking  out  for  you  and  found 
a  large  tent  and  cook  stove  that  were  brought 
here  for  a  dance  hall,  but  the  man  lost  all  the 
money  he  had  a  few  nights  ago  bucking  the 
tiger.  He  wants  $225  for  both.  The  tent, 
which  is  24x50,  has  six  small  rooms  partitioned 
off  for  bedrooms  for  the  girls,  but  it  has  never 
been  put  up,  as  there  is  no  lumber  in  town,  but 
he  ordered  the  lumber  for  the  frame  last  week 
and  it  may  come  in  any  day.  That  would  be 
extra.  " 

So  we  went  to  the  corral  to  see  the  man  and 
tent.  The  stove  was  a  large  Charter  Oak  cook 
ing  stove,  so  I  offered  him  $200  for  both  and 
got  them.  Then  we  went  to  see  about  lots, 
and  I  bought  a  lot  close  to  the  main  street  and 
had  the  first  log  cabin  on  it  that  was  built  in 
Gunnison.  I  paid  $400  cash  down  for  it  to 
to  Mr.  Harlowe,  who  had  just  put  up  a  tent 
and  his  wife  was  keeping  a  restaurant  and  could 
not  accommodate  a  quarter  of  the  people  at 
50  cents  a  meal.  Mrs.  Harlowe  took  me  to  a 
woman  who  had  a  small  tent,  and  I  got  a  cot 
to  sleep  on  at  50  cents  a  night  till  the  lumber 
came.  I  had  to  wait  for  ten  days  and  when  it 
did  come  it  was  wet,  green  lumber  and  at  $90 
a  thousand.  It  had  to  be  hauled  by  wagons 
from  Lake  City,  and  as  the  spring  was  breaking 
there  was  mud  up  to  the  hubs  in  places.  When 
the  carpenters  came  to  put  it  up  they  charged 
$8  a  day,  so  I  got  the  tent  up  without  a  floor, 
just  the  frame.  Then  I  had  to  buy  a  long, 
rough  lumber  table  and  six  three-legged  stools, 
all  by  the  pound.  There  were  a  few  cots  in 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  109 

town.  I  paid  $12  for  one  single  cot;  and  I  had 
not  gotten  my  trunks  yet.  I  went  every  day 
to  see  about  them,  for  I  had  some  table  linen 
and  some  silverware  in  them,  but  as  soon  as  the 
tent  was  up  and  the  stove  in  place  I  went  to 
housekeeping  with  a  tin  plate  and  a  tin  cup, 
and  a  soap  box  for  a  table  and  another  for  a 
seat,  whilst  I  was  waiting  for  the  table  and 
stools.  When  I  had  been  in  Gunnison  fifteen 
days  my  trunks  came  and  I  had  to  pay  $40 
before  they  would  give  them  to  me,  for  they 
had  charged  10  cents  a  pound  and  had  charged 
it  at  every  new  sleigh  or  stage.  Each  one  had 
charged  the  10  cents,  then  had  sent  them 
through  by  the  freighters ;  such  stealing  I  could 
not  imagine.  I  thought  they  were  taking  ad 
vantage  of  me  and  playing  me  for  a  tenderfoot, 
as  they  called  all  Eastern  people,  but  as  I  in 
quired  I  found  out  I  ought  to  have  sent  my 
baggage  by  ^the  freight  teams,  then  it  would 
have  been  10  cents  through,  but  as  I  did  not 
know  I  fell  in  the  stage  graft  or  express  graft. 
They  pretended  to  send  it  by  express,  when  it 
came  by  freight.  My  table  and  three-legged 
stools  cost  me  over  $30,  so  I  opened  a  restau 
rant  and  called  it  "Jack's  Cabin."  I  put  the 
tent  by  the  log  cabin,  and  the  teamsters  came 
to  it  the  first  place,  where  they  washed  them 
selves.  I  paid  $1.50  a  barrel  for  water.  A  half- 
Mexican,  called  "Daby  John,"  and  two  other 
men  sold  water  and  I  bought  half  a  ton  of  coal 
for  $10. 

The  Jews  were  coming  by  every  stage  and 
brought  big  tents  of  every  kind  with  freight 


110  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

loads.  They  brought  all  kinds  of  merchandise 
to  sell  and  the  prospectors  were  trying  to  get 
to  the  mining  camps.  A  great  many  of  them 
were  killed  by  snow-slides  and  when  I  had  them 
near  two  months  a  freighter  came  and  brought 
me  about  a  dozen  red  apples  and  a  small  cab 
bage  which  was  $1.50.  I  left  them  on  the 
table,  as  they  were  a  great  treat.  I  heard  such 
a  noise  that  I  went  down  to  the  front;  the  tent 
was  full  of  Indians.  They  had  stolen  my  apples 
and  were  scrambling  to  see  which  should  get 
them,  and  the  one  that  did  get  one  would  give 
a  bite  to  the  other  who  had  none,  but  he  held 
fast  to  the  apple  while  the  other  took  a  bite, 
and  of  all  the  sights — they  had  moccasins  and 
"brichants"  and  red  blankets  over  their  shoul 
ders,  their  bodies  and  arms  were  covered  with 
hair,  their  faces  were  all  covered  with  paint, 
and  their  long,  coarse,  black  hair,  with  bits  of 
every-colored  dirty  rags,  yellow  rags  tied  around 
little  strips  of  hair,  and  necklaces  of  chestnuts. 

I  stood  looking  on  when  they  all  came  around 
me,  and  one  big  buck,  who  had  large  gold  ear 
rings,  came  to  me  dancing  and  trying  to  touch 
my  hair.  I  thought  they%  wanted  to  scalp  me 
to  get  my  light  hair,  and  as  they  began  to  get 
closer  a  man  called  out  at  the  door  to  me  and 
said  : 

"Stand  your  ground  and  have  no  fear,  for 
they  have  gotten  some  fire-water  and  there  is 
no  telling  what  they  may  do." 

He  talked  to  them  in  their  own  language. 
Then  he  said  to  me: 

"  Colorou,  their  medicine  man,  wants  to  feel 
your  hair,  so  let  him. 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  111 

I  took  his  hand  and  put  it  on  my  head  and 
let  my  mass  of  yellow  hair  down,  and  they  all 
danced  around  me  and  touched  my  hair;  then 
jumped  away  as  though  they  had  been  stung  by 
a  bee,  but  Colorou  wanted  a  little  of  it,  so  I 
backed  to  the  kitchen  and  got  a  pair  of  scissors 
and  cut  off  a  good  size  lock  of  it  and  went  up  to 
Collarow  and  pinned  it  on  his  blanket.  He 
was  delighted  with  it.  He  stroked  and  patted 
it  as  though  it  had  life  in  it.  The  man  was  their 
interpreter  and  had  charge  of  them.  He  got 
them  away  and  I  was  glad,  for  I  was  a  great 
favorite  of  the  freighters,  and  I  expected  a  lot 
of  them  in  that  night  and  had  to  get  ready  for 
their  supper.  They  were  paying  $10  for  a  man 
to  carry  a  five-gallon  keg  of  whisky  two  miles 
on  snow  shoes  up  to  Reuly,  and  the  snow  was 
going  fast,  but  there  was  great  danger  of  slides. 
A  lot  had  gone  up  to  Crested  Butte  and  some  to 
Reuly,  but  everything  had  to  come  to  Gunni- 
son  first,  and  rough  buildings  were  going  up 
fast.  Then  a  dance  hall  came,  a  large  tent,  and 
they  called  it  "The  Lady  Gay/7  It  was  not 
very  far  from  me,  so  I  heard  all  day  the  noise  of 
their  caller  roaring  out  their  dances.  There 
were  saw-mills  coming  in  the  surrounding  tim 
ber  near  town,  so  the  town  was  building  fast. 
I  got  a  floor,  a  front  door  and  windows,  some 
chairs  and  more  tables,  and  a  man  cook,  for 
there  were  not  many  women  in  town  that  would 
work.  Some  men  brought  their  wives  with 
them  to  take  up  ranches  as  soon  as  the  Ute 
Indians  were  taken  off  their  reservation.  I  was 
doing  a  good  business  when  the  fall  came  and 


112  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

what  they  called  ' 'mountain  fever"  set  in. 
There  was  a  Dr.  Woods  who  built  a  drug  store 
and  had  a  room  in  the  back  of  it,  and  a  bank; 
the  cashier,  Sam  Gill,  and  his  wife  lived  in  the 
back  of  the  bank.  It  had  a  good  safe  in  it  and 
seemed  to  do  good  business  there.  There  was  a 
Dr.  Mitchell  who  came  from  Denver  and  bought 
the  corner  of  my  property  and  made  a  contract 
for  a  large  two-story  stone  building;  stores 
downstairs  and  rooms  upstairs.  He  was  a  tall, 
fine-looking  handsome  man.  He  came  to  me 
and  said: 

"I  feel  badly.  I  am  afraid  I  am  going  to 
be  sick." 

I  said: 

"Go  and  lie  down  on  the  cook's  bed  and  when 
the  rush  is  over  I  will  make  you  a  cup  of 
strong  tea." 

He  went  and  laid  down  about  half  an  hour 
and  then  came  and  got  his  tea,  but  could  not 
eat  anything.  He  started  to  go  across  the 
street  and  fell.  I  ran  to  him  and  raised  his 
head. 

He  said: 

"Oh!  my  wife,  my  wife!" 

I  yelled  for  help  and  some  one  brought  a  cart 
and  put  him  in  it  and  took  him  to  Dr.  Woods, 
but  when  they  took  him  in  the  back  room  he 
died.  It  was  mountain  fever;  he  had  it  for  sev 
eral  days,  but  neglected  it. 

One  day  some  men  came  and  asked  me  if  I 
had  an  old  boiled  shirt,  as  a  man  had  died  and 
they  wanted  to  put  a  white  shirt  on  him  to  be 
buried  in  and  there  were  no  prayer  books  in 
town.  I  said: 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  113 

"I  have  no  shirt,  but  I  have  a  prayer  book, 
both  Catholic  and  Protestant,  and  a  hymn  book. ' ' 

They  said: 

"That's  the  stuff.  We  can  send  him  off  de 
cently,  but  who  knows  about  reading  that 
funeral  business  ? ' ' 

I  said: 

"Why,  Old  Man  Braun,  who  has  a  landlady 
in  the  tent  back  of  the  Gunnison  House,"  so 
off  they  went  with  my  book  and  got  Braun  to 
read  the  funeral  or  something  over  the  man. 

Two  days  later  two  women  came  to  borrow 
my  hymn  books,  as  Maud  Kelly,  a  little  girl  had 
died  of  the  mountain  fever,  was  left  $30,000  by 
Colonel  Hall.  They  asked  me  to  go  and  help 
sing  a  hymn  over  her.  I  went.  It  was  in  the 
front  of  my  place.  They  had  turned  an  old 
blacksmith  shop  into  a  church  and  had  got  Old 
Man  Braun  to  read  the  services  over  her,  and 
we  sang  two  hymns;  all  the  women  there  were 
on  the  ranches  came  in  to  the  funeral.  Mr. 
Kelly,  her  father,  was  one  of  the  first  county 
commissioners  and  a  ranchman.  He  came  rid 
ing  in  to  town  and  would  stop  in  front  of  Sal 
low's  and  call  for  drinks  for  everyone  that  was 
near,  and  after  he  had  drank  he  would  throw 
his  glasses  to  the  ground  and  break  them,  then 
throw  a  five  or  ten-dollar  bill  to  the  man  and 
tell  him  to  take  the  damage  out  of  it,  and  when 
he  came  in  town  he  would  whoop  and  yell  like 
an  Indian  and  keep  it  up,  going  from  one  saloon 
to  another  and  throwing  money  away,  but 
when  his  term  of  office  was  out  the  taxpayers 
found  out  they  had  to  pay  for  all  of  that. 


114  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 


CHAPTER  VII. 

lY/TY  business  was  increasing  so  that  I  had  to 
*•***  buy  more  lots  and  buildings.  I  had  just 
finished  building  No.  2  when  the  handsome  man 
I  first  saw  at  Parlin,  and  whose  name  was  Jeff 
Mickey,  arrived.  He  was  the  only  son  of  a 
wealthy  banker  from  Shelby,  and  was  a  very 
highly  educated  man.  He  spoke  four  lan 
guages  and  was  an  all-around  sport.  He  came 
to  me  one  day  and  wanted  to  rent  my  building 
No.  2  for  a  saloon.  I  did  not  like  that,  but  it 
seemed  to  me  that  the  best  people  in  town  were 
saloon  people  or  faro  dealers,  so  I  rented  him 
building  No.  2,  but  on  the  condition  that  there 
should  be  no  gambling  allowed  in  the  place. 

I  was  taking  a  great  interest  in  mining  and 
got  the  prospectors  to  bring  me  specimens  of 
mineral  and  explain  all  about  the  veins  and 
formations,  and  in  the  meantime  Jeff  Mickey 
had  gotten  his  place  fitted  up  and  had  started. 
He  drew  crowds,  for  he  was  well  liked  and  had 
a  bunk  house  put  up  like  the  sleeping  cars,  one 
bunk  above  the  other,  so  that  I  could  accom 
modate  one  hundred  men  at  50  cents  a  night. 
I  was  buying  all  the  lots  adjoining  my  place 
that  I  could  get,  for  "Jack's  Cabin'1  was  head 
quarters  for  the  freighters  and  it  was  very 
crowded  at  nights,  when  there  was  a  great  deal 
of  excitement  in  town  and  the  sheriff  and  posse 
all  took  horses  and  went  tearing  past  my  place, 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  115 

for  we  learned  that  the  Indians  were  getting 
ready  to  waylay  the  freighters  and  rob  them. 
There  was  a  freighter  with  his  nephew,  named 
Jackson,  who  was  camping  for  the  night,  and 
an  Indian  went  to  get  something  to  eat;  the 
man  told  him  to  get  out,  when  he  pulled  a 
sheath  knife  to  kill  the  man.  The  boy,  seeing 
his  game,  pulled  his  gun  and  killed  the  Indian, 
and  as  soon  as  the  Indians  learned  of  it  they 
wanted  to  kill  all  the  whites.  The  sheriff  went 
to  get  young  Jackson,  and  they  brought  him  in 
and  put  him  in  a  calaboose,  the  only  place 
there  was  then,  but  as  the  crime  was  committed 
on  a  reservation  the  civil  attorneys  had  no  ju 
risdiction  over  it,  so  Cline,  the  Indian  agent, 
came  for  him.  The  officers  at  the  fort  wanted 
to  send  a  military  guard  with  him,  but  he  said 
he  knew  a  trail  that  could  bring  him  safe  and 
not  arouse  the  Indians,  so  the  sheriff  turned 
him  over  to  Cline.  Two  days  after  the  word 
came  that  Cline  had  formed  a  conspiracy  with 
the  chief  and  Collarow,  and  he  had  them  meet 
him  and  take  the  boy.  Cline  made  a  lot  of 
money  off  of  the  Indians.  He  sold  them  to 
bacco  and  all  sorts  of  things  and  was  getting 
rich  off  of  them.  He  did  not  want  to  be  an 
enemy  to  them.  They  gave  the  boy  to  the 
squaws  to  torture  him  to  death  and  they  tore 
his  tongue  out  with  fish  hooks  and  put  his  eyes 
out  with  red  hot  wire,  and  every  time  he 
shrieked  they  danced  around  him  and  laughed 
with  glee.  The  crime  was  committed  twenty- 
four  miles  out  of  Gunnison,  and  that  was  on 
the  reservation,  but  Gunnison  City  was  not  on 


116  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

the  reservation,  but  was  a  county  seat  and 
incorporated,  and  that  made  Cline  responsible 
to  the  Gunnison  authorities,  so  they  went  and 
got  him  and  put  him  in  a  calaboose,  but  the 
freighters  got  wind  of  it  and  took  their  wagons 
and  left  their  horses  and  rode  to  town  to  hang 
Cline.  They  had  made  it  up  for  Bud  Miller 
to  throw  a  rock  through  a  gamblers'  window 
and  get  arrested,  and  if  Cline  was  there,  he 
should  light  a  match  and  hold  it  to  the  window. 
Then  they  would  tear  the  door  down  and  bring 
a  rope  and  hang  him,  but  the  sheriff  got  wind 
of  what  they  were  up  to  and  took  him  out  and 
hid  him  in  an  old  cabin  with  two  guards  over 
him.  The  freighters  were  in  the  greatest  ex 
citement  for  over  an  hour  and  no  light  could  be 
seen.  They  went  and  paid  Bud's  fine  and  took 
him  out.  There  were  over  one  hundred  freight 
ers  at  "Jack's  Cabin."  and  such  a  night  I  put 
in!  I  never  went  to  bed.  The  next  day  was 
nearly  as  bad,  for  they  thought  the  Utes  would 
come  and  take  the  town.  But  the  third  day 
the  freighters  went  back  after  their  wagons 
and  we  thought  it  was  all  over,  when  the  Utes 
came  at  night  and  started  to  take  the  town, 
with  some  outlawed  whites.  The  Frenchmen 
would  go  in  a  place  first  and  see  how  the  land 
lay,  then  start  a  fight  and  the  small  band  of 
Indians  would  rush  in  and  do  their  work.  They 
cleaned  the  Gunnison  houses  out,  then  came  to 
"Jack's  Cabin,"  as  it  was  the  freighters'  quar 
ters,  and  started  the  fight  there,  but  Jeff  was  a 
powerful  man  and  quick.  He  fought  like  a 
demon,  but  there  were  too  many  for  him.  They 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  11? 

got  out  doors  and  all  the  men  went  outside. 
It  was  so  quick.  Some  of  the  lamps  had  been 
knocked  down  and  the  oil  had  caught  fire  on 
the  board  floor  and  was  setting  fire  to  the  build 
ings.  I  tore  my  apron  off  and  dipped  it  in 
water  and  began  to  beat  the  fire  out  when  I 
was  struck  on  the  forehead  with  a  tomahawk. 
I  jumped  back  and  grabbed  my  two  guns  and 
went  to  the  door  and  began  to  fire.  I  fell  on 
my  knees  from  loss  of  blood,  but  I  emptied  my 
guns  while  I  was  kneeling.  The  shooting 
brought  nearly  all  the  town  to  the  cabin.  The 
Indians,  seeing  such  a  crowd,  sneaked  off  in  the 
dark,  but  a  lot  of  them  lay  dead  all  around 
the  place;  two  of  the  Frenchmen  were  known 
and  the  officers  got  them  into  express  wagons 
and  threw  the  dead  men  in,  and  I  never  knew 
what  they  did  with  them.  They  were  afraid 
all  of  the  Utes  would  swarm  Gunnison,  and  if 
they  did  they  would  kill  every  one  before  the 
troops  could  save  them.  They  carried  five 
wounded  men  in  and  said  that  Jeff  was  dead. 

The  doctors  came  and  found  my  skull  was 
broken  in,  and  I  was  in  a  very  dangerous  con 
dition.  Jeff  was  not  dead,  but  badly  cut  and 
wounded.  They  sewed  up  my  wound,  but  I 
went  out  of  my  head.  The  next  day  the  inter 
preter  came  and  seeing  the  condition  I  was  in 
said: 

"Colorou  is  the  only  one  that  can  save  the 
woman,  for  the  thing  she  was  struck  with  was 
poison." 

Late  in  the  afternoon  Colorou  went  into  a 
restaurant,  took  hold  of  a  white  tablecloth, 


118  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

threw  all  the  dishes  on  the  floor  and  got  on  his 
pony,  waving  the  white  flag  of  truce.  The 
people  all  yelled. 

"The  Indians  are  coming  on  the  war  path!" 

Every  man  jumped  to  his  gun  or  anything  he 
could  find,  but  seeing  no  one  but  the  chief,  they 
waited  and  watched.  He  came  to  "Jack's  Cab 
in"  and  showed  my  hair  on  his  blanket,  and 
yelled : 

"Pale  face!  me  wants  to  save  her." 

So  they  brought  him  to  me.  He  did  not 
know  how  to  get  the  bandage  off  of  my  head, 
so  they  sent  for  my  doctor.  He  took  it  off  and 
Colorou  said: 

"Bloody  poison  killy  the  white  squaw,  and 
we  lovey  the  pale  face." 

He  stroked  my  hair  on  his  blanket  and  said : 

"Me  will  killy  the  brave  that  struck  the  pale 
face." 

He  took  something  from  a  pouch  and  laid  it 
on  my  head  and  gave  me  a  pill  as  big  as  a  bullet. 
He  left  some  more  for  me  to  take  every  hour, 
and  said  he  would  come  next  day. 

He  took  the  tablecloth  and  when  he  got  to 
the  restaurant  he  threw  it  on  the  door  and  went 
off  to  his  wigwam.  I  wandered  away  and 
thought  I  was  on  top  of  a  very  high  mountain 
which  was  covered  with  snow,  and  I  would  cry 
out: 

"Jenny,  where  are  you?  My  little  Jenny  is 
not  in  the  place  I  left  her." 

When  I  went  to  go  farther  a  man  came  to  me 
and  said: 

"What  are  you  seeking?" 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  119 

I  said : 

"My  little  child.  They  took  all  I  had  but  one, 
and  now  I  have  lost  her." 

"Not  so. 

"You  are  going  west  and  she  is  in  the  east; 
come,  thou  brave,  wanderer  of  earth,  and  I  will 
guide  thee." 

And  as  I  took  his  hand  to  go  I  looked  at  him 
and  cried  out: 

"  Tis  my  beloved  husband.  Why  do  you  not 
take  me  to  your  home?  I  am  so  tired  of  this 
desolate  place,  with  not  one  of  kin  or  one  whom 
I  can  confide  in.  Oh!  take  me,  take  me,  I  pray 
you." 

He  said:  "Nay,  I  cannot  take  you,  for 
you  were  born  to  go  through  what  you 
are  going  through  now,  and  your  sorrows  and 
trials  will  live  after  you  are  with  me.  When 
your  work  is  done  on  this  earth  plane, 
come;  we  will  go  to  our  child,"  and  it 
seemed  we  went  sailing  through  air  to  New 
York  and  to  the  Queninbosh  mansion  in  Eigh 
teenth  street  and  up  on  the  top  floor.  I  stood 
at  the  foot  of  a  bed  and  there  lay  my  Jenny, 
and  as  I  looked  at  her  she  was  crying  and  said : 

"Oh!  why  did  my  mother  leave  me  here  all 
alone?"  and  the  tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks. 

I  went  to  her  and  kissed  her  tear-stained  face 
and  petted  her.  Then  my  husband  said: 

"Come,  we  must  go." 

And  we  sailed  away  to  the  West  again  and 
went  to  the  room  where  my  body  lay  as  though 
in  death.  It  seemed  as  though  all  was  dark,  and 
then  I  came  to  my  senses  again  and  there  sat  on 


120  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

the  foot  of  my  bed  the  Cave  boy  all  in  tears,  for 
they  thought  I  was  dying  and  had  sent  for  the 
doctor.  He  came  and  ordered  stimulants  and 
beef  tea  for  me  and  said  that  I  was  too  faint  to 
drink,  so  they  gave  me  wine.  When  the  gam 
blers  found  it  out  they  went  around  to  the  back 
doors  of  the  restaurant  and  gave  big  tips  to  the 
cooks,  so  as  to  get  them  to  make  nice  things  and 
beef  tea  for  me,  for  it  was  very  hard  to  get  any 
thing  nice  in  such  a  rush,  and  my  place  was 
closed,  for  the  cooks  ran  away,  afraid  of  Indians, 
and  two  others  of  the  help  were  wounded  and  in 
bed.  I  was  helpless.  When  the  poor  unfor 
tunate  girls  brought  nice  things  to  me  I  was 
thankful.  Several  days  after  Collarow  had 
put  his  leaves  on  my  head,  two  sticks  broke  loose 
and  a  lot  of  black  blood  and  water  came 
from  the  wound,  and  when  Collarow  came  he 
said: 

"Paleface  will  get  better;  bad  blood  come," 
and  the  weather  was  getting  bitter  cold.  The 
men  got  up  and  went  out  to  their  meals. 

I  was  as  helpless  as  a  child. 

A  family  had  come  to  town  with  two  girls  and 
I  got  one  of  them  to  come  two  hours  in  the 
morning  and  two  in  the  afternoon,  for  $10  a 
week.  It  was  Christmas  now;  Jeff  had  been 
well  some  weeks,  but  I  had  just  begun  to  sit  up, 
and  Collarow  wanted  to  come  and  smoke  his 
pipe  and  sit  in  the  kitchen.  I  was  the  worst 
looking  thing.  I  was  fainter  when  I  saw  myself 
in  the  glass.  The  green  flood  had  settled  all 
down  my  face,  and  the  scar  was  a  sight.  I  had 
to  keep  my  head  bandanged  all  winter,  for  if 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  121 

the  frost  had  gotten  to  it  there  is  no  telling  what 
would  have  become  of  poor  me. 

The  people  kept  coming  and  I  had  to  open. 
One  week  the  surveyors  came  to  survey  for  the 
D.  &  R.  G.  railroad  and  my  place  was  crowded. 
I  bought  more  lots  and  put  up  more  buildings, 
and  in  the  spring  the  government  moved  the 
Indians.  The  United  States  district  attorney 
came  and  made  the  Gunnison  attorneys  give 
Cline  up  to  the  fort,  so  the  soldiers  came  and 
took  him  to  the  fort  a  prisoner  and  I  promised 
when  I  was  better  I  would  go  and  see  Collarow 
in  his  new  home.  He  was  very  sad  at  leaving 
and  became  "silverished."  He  gave  me  a 
pretty  pouch  of  pills  and  a  lot  of  herbs  and  told 
me  what  they  were  to  cure.  Then  he  took  my 
hands  and  stroked  them  and  said: 

"Bye,  bye." 

Then  he  made  a  run  for  the  door  as  if  he  did 
not  want  me  to  see  the  tears  in  his  eyes,  and 
that  was  the  last  time  I  ever  saw  him. 

The  surveyors  made  "Jack's  Cabin"  their 
home  and  they  were  a  gay  set  of  men ;  one,  a  tall 
middle-aged  man,  named  Hank,  borrowed  a 
woman's  mother  hubbard  wrapper  and  put  it  on. 
It  came  to  his  knees  and  he  tied  a  large  apron 
around  his  waist  and  had  a  woman's  hat  and 
parasol ;  he  went  up  Main  street  in  that  rig  and 
all  the  gamblers  and  men  would  come  out  and 
whoop  and  yell,  but  he  never  laughed,  not  a 
smile,  and  when  they  were  getting  ready  to 
move,  one  of  their  men  got  hurt  and  there  was 
not  a  place  in  town  to  take  a  sick  man  to,  so  I 
let  him  have  one  of  the  little  rooms  and  got  a 


122  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

doctor,  and  at  night  I  put  two  bottles  of  hot 
water  wrapped  up  in  some  flannel,  in  bed  with 
him.  It  was  very  cold.  A  blizzard  was  blowing 
and  I  put  a  large  lump  of  coal  down  before  I 
went  to  bed,  but  in  the  night  I  was  awakened 
by  the  yelling.  I  am  boosted  up  and  I  am 
boosted  up.  I  got  a  light  and  my  red  blankets 
were  white  with  frost  all  around  where  my 
breath  had  gone  on  them,  and  my  ear  was 
frozen  stiff  in  the  front.  I  got  some  clothes 
on  and  went  to  Ike  and  he  said : 

"I  am  freezing.  Those  damned  bottles  are 
busted/' 

I  took  the  covers  off  his  feet  and  sure  enough 
the  hot  water  bottles  were  "busted"  and  ice  all 
over  the  bed  clothes. 

I  took  them  out  and  wrapped  them  up  in  my 
petticoat  and  went  to  look  at  the  fire.  It  had 
gone  out.  I  made  a  fire  and  put  on  a  lot  of  coal 
and  got  to  bed  again,  but  my  head  pained  me  so 
I  could  not  sleep.  I  covered  my  head  up  under 
the  bed  clothes.  Early  in  the  morning  the  cook 
brought  me  something  he  called  a  cocktail;  he 
said  Mr.  Jeff  had  sent  it  and  that  everything  was 
frozen;  the  barometer  had  stopped  at  42  degrees 
below  zero  and  he  had  given  the  sick  man  a 
drink  the  same  as  mine.  The  men  began  to  come 
in  and  the  whole  town  was  frozen  up.  I  had  a 
well  sunk  fifty-two  feet  deep  and  it  was  frozen 
on  the  top.  The  boys  had  to  put  large  rocks  in 
the  buckets  and  break  the  ice  before  they  could 
get  any  water.  There  were  people  of  all  classes 
coming  to  town,  and  among  them  was  a  young 
attorney,  Frank  A.  Gaudey  and  Ike  Stevens,  a 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  123 

tall,  slim  young  man.  A  lot  of  dead-beats  came 
to  "Jack's  Cabin"  to  give  me  a  stand  off.  Ike 
was  up  and  had  a  little  shawl  over  his  head;  the 
doctor  had  painted  his  face  with  iodine,  as  he 
had  erysipelas  in  his  head  and  face.  I  said  to 
them,  as  they  came  in: 

"If  you  are  afraid  of  the  smallpox,  do  not 
come  in  here/' 

Ike  turned  and  looked  at  them  with  his  painted 
face  and  the  shawl  over  his  head.  He  looked  a 
fright.  They  stood  for  a  minute  or  two  and 
then  went  as  if  they  had  seen  a  ghost.  So  I 
got  rid  of  the  dead-beats  and  Ike  soon  got  well 
and  went  to  the  surveyors'  gang  again. 

A  few  weeks  after  this  I  was  very  busy  when 
one  of  the  help  came  to  me  and  said: 

"There  will  be  trouble  in  the  bunkhouse,  for 
Jim  is  full  and  has  a  gun,  and  is  abusing  one  of 
the  carpenters." 

I  said: 

"Well,  go  and  throw  him  out." 

He  said: 

"Not  me,  by  gosh;  I  don't  want  to  be  killed 
by  that  drunken  whelp." 

I  went  in  my  room,  and  took  my  gun  and 
went  to  the  bunkhouse  and  said: 

"What  are  you  growling  about?  Get  out  of 
this." 

He  said: 

"Not  till  I  have  settled  with  this  son  of  a  b " 

and  pulled  his  gun  to  fire  at  the  man.  I  pulled 
mine  and  shot  the  gun  out  of  his  hands  and  part 
of  his  hand  off  with  it. 

I  said: 


124  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

"Now  go,  or  I  will  wing  off  the  other  hand." 

He  began  to  yell,  but  got  afraid  I  would  give 
him  another  shot,  so  he  went,  and  as  soon  as  he 
had  gone  the  carpenter  said: 

"Words  are  empty,  for  you  have  saved  my 
life  and  I  have  a  wife  and  two  children  depend 
ing  on  me  for  a  living. " 

I  said: 

"What  was  the  trouble?" 

He  said: 

"Jim  wanted  to  borrow  $5  of  me  and  I  told 
him  I  did  not  have  it.  Then  he  began  his 
abuse,  and  I  am  afraid  he  will  do  something 
yet,  for  the  very  old  Satan  is  in  that  lad." 

I  said: 

"No,  he  is  a  coward,  for  he  knew  that  he  had 
the  drop  on  you;  that  you  were  unarmed,  but 
he  did  not  think  of  me  being  so  quick  and  taking 
such  a  straight  shot.  He  will  never  try  to 
come  at  me." 

That  night  the  officers  told  me  I  was  under 
arrest,  so  I  went  and  got  Frank  Gowdy  and  gave 
a  bond  for  $1,000,  and  I  would  not  let  the  justice 
try  the  case,  but  took  it  to  the  county  court, 
before  Judge  Smith.  When  the  trial  came  off 
we  all  went  to  court  and  the  jury  was  all  sworn 
in.  The  man  had  Ike  Stevens,  and  both  the 
young  attorneys  began  their  case  and  all  at 
once  Stevens  called  Gowdy  a  liar,  and  as  soon 
as  lie  had  Gowdy  struck  him  a  paster  on  the 
nose  and  blood  was  streaming  down  his  face; 
when  they  both  began  to  fight  all  the  jurors 
jumped  from  their  seats  and  got  to  scrapping, 
and  old  Judge  Smith  jumped  upon  his  desk  and 
yelled  out: 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  125 

"I  fine  you  both  for  contempt  of  court." 
Then  some  one  struck  him  with  a  chair  and 
knocked  him  off  of  the  desk.  The  sheriff  tried 
to  grab  some  one  when  old  Jack  Seamon  struck 
him  and  sent  him  head  foremost  over  some 
chairs;  they  were  fastened  together,  and  when 
I  saw  him  go  over,  his  coat-tails  opened  behind 
and  his  ears  sticking  up  as  he  went  on  all-fours 
over  the  back  of  the  chairs,  I  thought  I  would 
die  laughing.  But  as  soon  as  the  men  got  out 
of  the  fight  they  made  for  the  door  and  out.  I 
never  heard  anyone  say  court  adjourned  or  any 
more  about  fining  for  contempt,  nor  was  anyone 
arrested,  but  all  got  out  as  fast  as  they  could, 
and  when  I  got  on  the  main  street  three  old  dead- 
beats  that  I  had  fired  out  of  my  place  stood  on 
the  corner.  I  was  laughing  at  the  sight,  it  was 
so  comical,  but  those  men  saw  the  bloody  hand 
kerchief  and  black  eyes  of  two  of  the  men,  then 
saw  me  laughing.  One  of  them  said: 

"There,  I  told  you  she  had  done  it." 

Just  then  Frank  McMaster,  who  had  just  got 
a  little  newspaper,  came  up  to  the  men  and  said: 

"What's  up?" 

The  man,  who  did  not  know  anything  only 
what  he  had  surmised,  said: 

"Why,  that  yellow-haired  girl  has  cleaned  the 
court  room  up  with  a  gun  and  licked  both  judge 
and  jurors,  and  then  turned  loose  on  both  law 
yers  and  sheriff.  They  all  have  bloody  faces  and 
one  a  black  eye,  and  the  poor  old  judge  is  getting 
his  wrist  set,  as  she  must  have  broken  it  with 
the  butt  end  of  her  gun." 

The  newsman  went  back  to  his  office  with  all 


126  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

this,  and  as  it  was  press  time  he  put  it  all  in 
the  paper,  with  big  headings  of  "Mrs.  Captain 
Jack,  the  Dare  Devil  of  the  West,"  had  cleaned 
the  county  court  room  out,  and  a  lot  more  that 
the  man  told  him,  when  the  truth  was  that  I 
was  the  only  one  that  was  not  in  the  fight.  The 
only  part  I  took  was  to  laugh  at  George  Hues, 
the  sheriff,  going  over  the  chair  backs. 

Well,  that  paper  went  to  Denver,  then  all  the 
papers  in  the  United  States  of  America  had  me 
as  one  of  the  worst  and  most  daring  women  that 
had  ever  lived.  It  seemed  that  every  paper 
added  a  little  more  to  it.  They  even  sent  agents 
from  New  York  to  get  a  picture  of  me  to  put  in 
the  Police  Gazette,  and  all  this  was  through  the 
vicious  tongue  of  old  man  Kirkbe. 

My  trial  did  not  come  up  for  several  weeks 
after,  and  when  it  did  I  was  fined  $15  and  costs 
for  saving  a  man's  life  and  at  least  $1,000  ex 
pense  to  the  county  for  prosecuting  the  murder 
er,  but  the  game  was  to  get  what  they  could  out 
of  me,  and  they  knew  if  they  made  the  fine  too 
large  I  would  carry  the  case  up.  I  was  very 
angry  at  being  fined,  but  paid  it,  and  a  few 
weeks  after  Judge  Smith  came  to  me  to  see 
about  some  land  I  had  gotten,  and  after  he  got 
through  with  the  land  business  he  said: 

"You  see  if  you  had  not  shot  that  man  I 
would  not  have  gotten  my  wrist  sprained,  and 
it  gives  me  a  great  deal  of  pain  and  trouble/' 

I  said: 

"Is  that  why  you  fined  me  for  saving  a  good 
man's  life  and  disarming  a  ruffian?" 

He  said; 


CAPTAIN  JACK — MINING  QUEEN 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

"Well,  no,  not  that." 

I  said: 

"Judge,  you  ought  to  have  been  in  your  grave 
ten  years  ago.  You  are  not  fit  to  judge  between 
right  and  wrong.  You  remind  me  of  a  piece  of 
old  parchment  that  has  done  its  work,  and  when 
election  day  comes  I  will  do  mine.  I  cannot  vote 
but  I  can  get  the  boys  to  vote  for  me." 

And  when  election  came  there  were  stickers 
with  names  on,  and  we  cut  off  the  name  we 
wanted  and  stuck  it  over  the  name  we  did  not 
want.  I  was  very  busy  fixing  up  my  tickets 
and  getting  the  boys  to  vote  them,  and  the 
Judge  got  beat.  He  started  to  sell  out  every 
thing  he  had,  and  got  his  wife  to  help  him,  and 
when  he  had  gotten  all  he  could  he  took  the  only 
child  of  a  widow,  seventeen  years  old,  and  dis 
appeared  and  left  his  poor  old  wife  and  daughter 
without  home  or  money.  That  is  a  sample 
of  the  officers  we  had  in  those  days. 

The  town  was  still  booming  and  there  was  a 
man  who  had  been  an  officer  for  many  years  in 
causes,  whose  name  was  Jimmy  McClease.  Jeff 
knew  him  for  many  years,  so  I  got  him  on  the 
police  force.  The  town  was  very  rough;  four 
dance  halls  and  a  variety  of  theaters  and  a  lot 
of  other  bad  places.  It  was  nothing  to  find 
men  dead  in  alleys  and  robbed,  and  the  authori 
ties  did  not  try  to  find  out  who  committed  the 
crimes,  for  there  was  not  money  enough  in  the 
treasury  to  prosecute  half  of  them. 

Then  the  graders  of  the  D.  &  R.  G.  railroad 
came  and  another  set  of  surveyors  for  the  South 
Park  railway.  The  coal  mines  that  had  been 


128  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

opened  up  were  making  still  more  excitement. 
I  took  up  two  coal  mines  and  put  four  men  to 
open  them  up,  but  sold  them  for  $1,000,  as  I 
could  not  look  after  them.  Jeff  Mickey  was 
drinking  and  running  with  sporty  women,  and  I 
did  not  like  that.  It  kept  me  on  nettles  all  the 
time,  with  fear  that  something  would  happen; 
and  Buffalo  Bill  Cody,  the  show  man  that  is 
now,  was  known  as  Bill  Specte  then.  He  used 
to  bring  me  mountain  species  of  sheep  which 
were  fine,  and  he  brought  me  a  lot  of  fox  skins, 
enough  to  make  a  carriage  robe.  He  was  known 
as  a  scout  and  an  Indian  interpreter,  and  was  an 
all-round  good  fellow.  There  was  a  man  named 
Cal  Mace  who  had  fitted  up  the  handsomest 
gambling  saloon  in  town,  and  Jamey  McClease 
told  me  that  he  was  the  most  dangerous  man 
that  ever  came  to  town,  for  a  reward  of  over 
$5,000  was  hanging  over  him  for  killing  two  men 
in  Texas.  It  was  not  many  nights  after,  I  was 
told,  that  there  was  a  crowd  running  to  the 
Yard's  dance  hall,  which  was  just  opposite  my 
place,  and  there  was  Jimmie  sleeping  in  his  room. 
I  went  to  his  door  and  said: 

"Get  up,  Jim;  there  is  a  row  over  the  way.' 

He  was  soon  up  out  of  his  room  and  when  he 
was  half  way  across  the  street  he  turned  back 
and  said: 

"Lend  me  your  gun.  I  have  left  mine  in  my 
overcoat  pocket." 

I  loaned  him  the  very  gun  that  I  had  shot  the 
hand  off  with.  He  went  into  the  dance  hall  and 
found  out  that  Cal  Mace's  bartender  was  on  a 
<lrunk  and  had  beaten  one  of  the  girls  over  the 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

head  with  a  bottle;  he  had  cut  her  shamefully 
and  the  men  were  trying  to  put  him  out.  As 
Yard  was  not  in  and  he  had  pulled  a  gun  on 
them,  Jem  got  him  out  and  took  him  to  his  room 
and  told  him  to  go  to  bed  or  he  would  get  into 
trouble. 

I  had  a  little  hunchbacked  woman  who  worked 
for  me  and  slept  with  me  because  rooms  brought 
too  much  money  to  give  her  an  extra  room. 
About  nine  o'clock  she  went  to  bed  and  as  all 
was  quiet  I  went  to  bed  about  ten,  but  before 
I  went  I  loaded  my  other  gun  and  put  it  under 
my  pillow.  We  had  been  in  bed  some  time  and 
was  sound  asleep  when  some  one  burst  in  my 
door,  and  as  I  reached  for  my  gun  the  man  said: 

"Hold,  it  is  I,  Jim." 

I  said: 

"How  dare  you  break  into  my  room?" 

He  said: 

"Get  a  light,  quick,  for  I  am  shot,  but  I  had 
to  kill  him." 

I  said  to  Anna: 

"Get  up  and  go  to  Jeff's  room  and  tell  him  to 
get  up." 

She  said: 

"He  is  not  in  his  room." 

Jim  had  a  large  army  gun  and  his  hands  were 
streaming  with  blood: 

I  said: 

"I  thought  the  man  had  gone  to  bed." 

Jim  said : 

"He  got  up  and  began  his  fighting  again  and 
I  took  him  to  Cal's  saloon,  when  Cal  said,  'I 
know  what  you  are  after/  meaning  the  reward, 

9 


130  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

and  he  pulled  his  big  gun  and  shot  through 
Jim's  finger,  but  before  he  could  fire  again  Jim 
fired  three  shots  just  as  quick.  My  gun  was 
self-cocker,  double  action,  and  killed  him." 

After  he  fell  Jim  took  the  gun  away  from  him 
and  brought  it  to  his  room. 

I  said: 

"You  had  better  get  a  doctor  to  see  how  much 
you  are  hurt." 

He  said : 

"Stop  the  flow  of  blood,  for  I  am  feeling  faint." 

I  bandaged  his  finger  and  hand  the  best  I 
could,  then  he  went  to  get  Dr.  Rockerfellow 
and  give  himself  up  to  the  sheriff,  but  there  was 
no  more  sleep  for  us  that  night.  The  next 
morning  as  soon  as  the  saloon  men  and  gam 
blers  heard  of  Cal's  being  killed  by  Jim  McClease, 
an  officer,  they  were  furious  and  made  threats 
of  lynching  him,  for  they  heard  nothing  of  the 
reward  or  his  crimes,  and  there  was  a  sporting 
woman,  who  kept  the  largest  sporting  house  in 
town,  whose  name  was  Molly  Keese,  and  she 
had  this  man  for  a  lover.  She  got  on  a  drunk 
and  at  night  she  gathered  a  band  of  tin  horns 
and  all-round  bad  men  that  were  broke  and 
offered  them  $500  to  take  Jim  out  and  hang 
him.  There  were  mobs  gathering  to  go  to  the 
jail  for  Jim.  Then  the  sheriff  found  out  what 
was  doing.  He  sent  to  me  to  have  all  the 
trusty  men  I  could  get,  and  as  soon  as  I  could, 
for  he  had  not  force  enough,  and  I  had  a  hun 
dred  men  boarding  at  "Jack's  Cabin."  When 
I  had  thirty -six  men  ready  they  said: 

"By  gosh,  the  sheriff  might  shoot  at  us  and 
think  we  belonged  to  the  other  side." 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  131 

I  said: 

"I  will  go  first." 

So  I  went  a  few  yards  ahead  of  them  and 
went  up  the  steps  to  the  jail  and  called  out: 

* 'Captain  Jack  is  here;  open  the  door." 

They  had  a  chain  on  the  door  and  opened  it 
just  enough  to  peek  through,  I  said: 

"I  have  a  band  of  good  trusty  men;  let  them 
in.  I  was  afraid  you  might  mistake  them  for 
the  other  side  if  I  had  not  come  in  with  them." 

He  said: 

* 'Get  them  in,  quick."  I  hopped  up  and  they 
all  came  running  up  the  steps  and  the  sheriff 
swore  them  all  in  as  deputies. 

Not  a  minute  too  quick,  for  the  mobs  were 
coming  in  from  three  different  directions.  I 
said: 

"Let  me  out  before  they  get  here." 

He  said: 

"They  will  see  you  and  get  you  sure." 

I  said: 

"Let  me  out  of  the  back  door  and  put  out  all 
the  lights.  I  will  go  on  all  fours  till  I  get  far 
enough  away." 

So  I  went  as  fast  as  I  could  to  my  own  back 
door,  for  I  knew  my  place  had  been  watched, 
and  I  sent  over  to  the  dance  hall  to  tell  Mr. 
Yard  to  come  to  me  at  once.  He  came  and  I 
told  him  about  the  reward,  and  that  was  why 
Cal  wished  a  very  different  light  on  it,  and  I 
asked  him  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  my  place, 
as  they  might  try  to  blow  it  up  with  dynamite. 
Yard  said  he  would  go  to  the  saloon,  which  was 
next  door  to  his  place  on  the  corner  and  kept 


132  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

by  George  Welsh  and  Tom  Creeal,  both  Texans. 
As  soon  as  they  found  out  that  this  was  the 
man  that  was  wanted  for  the  two  murders  in 
Texas  they  went  to  all  the  saloons  and  told 
why  Jim  had  to  kill  him  or  be  killed  himself, 
and  as  soon  as  the  truth  was  known  they  let 
up  on  their  cry  to  hang  him  and  would  have 
nothing  to  do  with  it,  but  the  women  had  got 
ten  a  lot  of  tin-horns  drunk  enough  to  do  any 
thing  and  they  went  to  the  jail  and  yelled  out 
that  they  wanted  Jim  McClease,  and  were  met 
with  a  volley  of  shots.  The  sheriff  told  the 
men  to  fire  over  the  men's  heads  as  a  warning, 
and  then  the  mob  yelled  and  cursed  and  made 
threats.  The  sheriff  opened  a  window  and  told 
the  mob  to  go  away  or  he  would  fire  to  kill  and 
that  he  had  force  enough  to  take  care  of  his 
prisoners.  They  expected  the  saloon  men  to 
come  and  help  them  and  were  waiting  for  a 
leader  to  make  the  break,  when  three  men  came 
to  the  mob  and  said : 

"We  fear  the  jig  is  all  up,  for  every  one  of  the 
faro  dealers  and  the  saloon  men  have  gone  back 
on  us,  as  they  have  found  out  something  about 
Cal  Hays,  and  say  he  only  got  what  he  ought  to 
get;  that  he  was  going  to  be  married  to  this 
Molly  Keese  when  he  had  a  wife  and  two  chil 
dren  who  came  to  Gunnison  when  they  heard 
of  the  death,  and  as  soon  as  the  woman  heard 
for  sure  that  he  was  a  married  man  she  said  if 
Jim  had  not  killed  him  she  would,  for  it  was  all 
her  money  that  had  fitted  up  the  gambling 
saloon.  Over  $3,000  had  gone,  but  she  took 
all  the  things  and  the  gamblers  made  up  a  purse 
for  the  widow  to  go  back  to  Texas. 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  13£ 

jfeff  and  another  man  came  to  me  to  get  me 
to  go  on  Jim's  bond,  which  was  $50,000.  I 
would  not  go  on  it,  for  I  was  getting  sick  of  such 
work  and  all  the  outfit.  It  made  Jim  very  angry, 
for  he  had  banked  on  me,  so  he  had  to  stay  in 
jail,  and  when  he  had  been  in  between  three  and 
four  weeks  he  all  at  once  disappeared,  and  there 
was  a  great  outcry  about  it.  I  knew  nothing 
about  it,  but  I  knew  that  Jefl  avoided  me,  and 
that  he  and  a  man  called  Sailor  Jack,  that 
worked  around  the  kitchen,  were  up  to  some 
thing  that  was  not  straight,  and  I  mistrusted 
them.  Jim  had  been  missing  about  ten  days 
and  every  place  had  been  searched  that  a  likely 
place  for  him  to  be  in,  when  one  Sunday  the 
sheriff  deputized  fifty  men  to  come  to  my  place. 
I  saw  them  coming  down  the  street  and  said  to 
Annie: 

"I  wonder  what  the  trouble  is,"  and  Sailor 
Jack  jumped  up  and  went  in  the  barroom  to 
Jeff.  They  stopped  in  front  first  and  then  sur 
rounded  the  place.  The  sheriff  came  in  and  said: 

"We  want  Jim  McClease." 

I  was  indignant  and  said: 

"You  are  welcome  to  him  if  you  can  find  him." 

There  were  five  buildings  adjoining  each  other 
and  it  was  not  a  very  easy  thing  to  find  anyone 
if  we  did  not  want  them  found,  and  as  I  stood  in 
the  dining  room  Mr.  Burten,  the  hardware  mer 
chant,  came  to  me  and  said: 

"It  will  save  trouble  to  give  him  up,  for  it  is 
known  for  sure  that  he  is  in  this  place." 

Then  all  at  once  I  thought  of  Jack,  I  beck 
oned  to  the  sheriff  and  said: 


134  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

"Are  you  sure  he  is  here?" 

He  said: 

"Yes." 

I  said: 

"I  want  to  go  in  my  room  and  get  my  gun, 
then  I  will  find  out  the  truth  of  it  and  where  he 
is  and  will  get  him  for  you." 

He  said: 

"I  do  not  want  you  to  get  a  gun." 

I  said: 

"Then  I  will  not  help." 

Burten  said: 

"Are  you  sure  you  do  not  want  to  use  the  gun 
on  the  deputies?" 

I  said: 

"On  my  word  as  a  woman  I  will  not  turn  the 
gun  on  the  deputies." 

They  both  went  with  me  to  get  the  gun.  I 
went  to  the  kitchen  and  said  to  Sailor  Jack: 

"Where  is  Jim's  hiding  place." 

He  said: 

"I  don't  know." 

I  struck  him  over  the  face  with  the  gun  and 
said: 

"Show  me  quick  or  I  will  fix  you." 

He  went  to  his  room  and  fainted  on  the  floor. 
Then  I  knew  but  had  forgotten  a  small  cellar 
that  we  dug  to  keep  potatoes  from  freezing, 
before  the  large  cellar  in  building  No.  2  was 
built.  I  pulled  up  a  board  and  said: 

"Jim,  the  jig  is  all  up.  You  have  to  come  up 
and  give  yourself  up,  for  the  place  is  surrounded 
with  deputies." 

He  said: 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  135 

"I  will  surrender  to  you,  but  not  to  them/' 

I  went  to  the  sheriff  and  said: 

"  Bring  all  your  men  in  the  front,  for  he  will 
surrender  to  me,  but  not  to  you.  I  will  get  his 
gun  away  from  him,  then  turn  him  over  to  you." 

So  I  went  back  and  said: 

"Come  out  of  that;  I  am  waiting  for  you." 

He  came  out  and  when  he  was  in  the  room  I 
said: 

"Give  me  the  gun.     You  do  not  want  it." 

He  did  not  want  to  give  it  up,  but  I  said: 

"You  must  keep  your  peace  with  me  and  sur 
render  that  gun  and  yourself  to  me." 

He  handed  the  gun  to  me. 

I  said: 

"Come,  there  is  nothing  left  here  but  to  go 
back  with  them.  It  would  be  death  to  attempt 
to  escape." 

So  he  walked  with  me  to  the  No.  2  dining 
room  where  the  sheriff  was. 

I  said: 

"Here  is  your  prisoner,  sir,  and  you  take  care 
of  him.  It  is  your  business  to  take  care  of  him, 
not  mine." 

So  they  all  surrounded  him  and  marched  to 
the  jail  that  night. 

A  Jewish  merchant  named  Bail  came  to  me  and 
said: 

"See,  now,  those  cursed  churches  are  coming 
in  town,  there  will  be  no  more  luck  or  peace,  for 
they  stick  their  noses  into  everybody's  business 
to  get  money  and  play  that  they  are  doing  some 
good.  One  of  them  came  to  Burten  and  me, 
and  said: 


136  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

"I  will  swear  out  a  warrant  for  you  for  har 
boring  a  murderer." 

"We  told  him  he  had  better  mind  his  own 
business;  that  we  got  along  very  well  before  his 
outfit  came  and  we  were  here  first  and  you  gave 
them  $50  to  build  that  church.  You  will  see 
what  they  will  give  you  for  it." 

That  is  one  thing  you  must  admit.  The  Jews 
never  interfere  with  anyone's  church  or  busi 
ness,  and  when  I  turned  back  to  look  at  the  Jews 
I  had  met  in  London  and  Paris,  I  never  remem 
bered  about  a  remark  about  our  churches,  and 
never  heard  of  one  of  them  trying  to  get  a 
convert. 

But  the  other  churches  are  doing  all  they  can 
to  get  converts  and  are  preaching  that  they  are 
following  the  workings  and  teachings  of  the 
Jesus  Christ. 

I  say: 

It  is  false.  They  do  not  follow  after  his 
teachings,  for  he  cast  out  evil  spirits  and  cured 
the  sick  and  said:  "As  I  do  ye  shall  do  also," 
and  greater  things  also,  and  until  these  minis 
ters  come  down  off  their  pulpits  and  cast  out 
devils  or  evil  spirits  out  of  the  congregation 
and  cure  the  sick,  they  are  not  what  they  claim 
to  be.  Go  into  the  church  and  look  at  the 
congregation,  all  well  dressed  people  and  gray- 
haired  old  women  and  bald-headed  old  men. 
They  pray  to  Almighty  God  to  send  them  pros 
perity.  He  has  already  sent  them  poor  brothers 
who  have  to  have  money  at  2  per  cent  per 
month,  or  as  much  more  as  they  can  hold  them 
up  for,  and  practice  usury  from  Monday  morn- 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  137 

ing  to  Saturday  night;  then  Sunday  morning 
their  piety  starts  and  ends  Sunday  night,  and 
they  have  done  their  duty.  They  have  thanked 
God  for  sending  the  poor  creatures  at  2  per  cent 
a  month,  and  asked  him  to  send  them  some 
more  through  the  week  till  Sunday  comes 
again.  I  know  a  preacher  who  had  a  son  at 
college,  and  it  was  his  last  term,  and  when  the 
boy  came  home  his  father  took  him  by  himself 
and  said: 

"My  son,  you  must  choose  a  profession  for 
yourself,  now  that  you  are  out  of  college/' 

The  boy  said: 

"Well,  you  wear  good  clothes  and  have  every 
thing  that  is  good  and  a  lot  of  women  paying 
you  compliments  and  making  a  pet  of  you  all 
the  time.  What  if  I  should  follow  suit  and  be 
a  minister  and  have  an  easy  time  of  it  too?" 

And  yet  there  is  something  in  the  churches 
and  Sabbath  schools  that  is  beautiful.  I  can 
look  back  to  childhood  days  when  I  went  to 
Sunday  school,  and  very  often  in  my  rambles 
through  the  mountains  I  offered  up  a  prayer 
for  my  teachers,  whom  have  long  ago  passed  from 
this  beautiful  shore.  The  path  the  ministers 
are  taking  is  by  far  too  narrow;  they  must 
widen  with  the  age  of  progression. 

Monday  at  noon  I  was  arrested.  The  police 
man  swore  out  a  warrant  for  me,  but  Mickey 
McClease  had  not  been  convicted  of  murder, 
so  I  could  not  harbor  one  till  the  law  said  he 
was  one. 

I  went  up  the  street  and  asked  the  mer 
chants  to  go  on  my  bond.  There  were  five  of 


138  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

them  there  in  five  minutes  after  we  got  to  court. 
Two  of  them  signed,  but  the  judge  would  not 
let  the  others  sign  the  bond,  for  two  was  enough, 
so  the  other  three  were  quite  slighted,  but  they 
all  held  a  meeting  at  four  o'clock  in  the  after 
noon  and  the  news  spread  like  wild  fire,  and 
that  night  a  crowd  of  men  went  to  the  police 
man's  house  and  woke  him  up.  They  took  him 
to  the  end  of  the  town  and  gave  him  a  good 
sound  thrashing  and  told  him  to  get  away  from 
town  as  fast  as  he  could,  for  if  he  ever  came 
back  he  would  never  get  a  chance  to  go  again, 
for  they  would  hang  him  till  he  was  dead. 

They  had  a  paper  already  signed  saying: 

"Go  on  with  your  church,  and  the  one  that 
interferes  with  the  other's  business  will  go  as 
quick  as  the  one  that  has  just  gone."  They 
tacked  this  paper  on  his  door,  and  that  stopped 
their  interference  for  a  while. 

They  begged  money  from  the  gamblers  and 
from  me  to  build  the  church  and  before  it  was 
finished  they  began  to  plan  to  run  the  sports 
out  of  town  and  close  the  saloons.  I  never 
knew  any  gambler  to  refuse  to  give  man  or 
woman  help  if  they  were  in  need;  not  like 
Carnagie,  when  the  poor  asked  for  bread  he 
gave  them  a  public  library  and  answered  this 
question: 

"Dear  readers:  What  class  of  people  are 
benefited  by  these  libraries?" 

I  had  made  arrangements  to  go  into  the 
mountains  to  look  at  some  mining  property  and 
the  railroad  went  up  as  far  as  Crister  Butte, 
but  all  this  trouble  coming  on  I  knew  nothing 


THE    FATE    OF   A   FAIRY  139 

about  it.  It  seemed  to  change  me,  for  I  was 
determined  to  be  rid  of  it  all,  so  I  had  a  talk 
with  Mickey  and  told  him  he  must  vacate  the 
place  as  soon  as  he  could  get  one,  for  I  would 
close  his  saloon  up. 

He  said: 

"If  you  will  marry  me  I  will  never  drink  an 
other  drop  of  any  intoxicating  liquor,  but  will 
be  a  good  man." 

His  mother  prayed  on  her  dying  bed  that  he 
should  be  good  and  go  back  East  and  sell  his 
property  and  go  into  his  old  business,  a  dry 
goods  merchant. 

I  was  to  sell  out  as  soon  as  I  could. 

He  had  always  treated  me  with  the  greatest 
respect.  If  a  man  would  say  a  vulgar  word  in 
my  presence  he  would  knock  him  down,  for  he 
was  a  fearless  man  and  knew  no  fear. 

I  said: 

"That  leaf  is  not  in  my  book.  If  you  had 
millions  I  would  not  marry  you,  so  never 
breathe  a  word  about  that  subject  again/* 

He  said : 

"You  go  to  the  mountains  tomorrow  morning 
and  your  wish  is  that  I  would  be  gone  when  you 
come  back." 

I  said: 

"Yes,  that  would  suit  me." 

He  said : 

"No  one  regrets  more  than  I  the  trouble  I  have 
foolishly  brought  upon  you,  but  I  did  not  think 
of  getting  you  into  trouble  or  I  would  never  have 
brought  him  here,  and  although  I  am  an  outcast 
out  here  I  was  brought  up  to  be  a  gentleman  and 


140  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

have  the  education  of  one, and  I  have  watched 
you  closely  at  times  when  you  never  dreamed  of 
such  a  thing,  and  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  I 
find  a  woman  with  two  distinct  characters,  as 
though  they  belonged  to  two  separate  bodies. 
At  times  you  are  gentle  and  sympathetic  and 
your  look  is  far  away  as  though  not  on  earth, 
and  at  such  times  you  are  more  like  an  angel 
than  a  woman  of  earth.  Then  you  are  changed, 
you  know!  you  know  no  fear.  I  watched  you 
when  you  shot  the  gun  from  Jim's  hand  and  it 
did  not  excite  you  in  the  least,  no  more  than  if 
you  had  shot  at  a  post — calm,  cool  and  straighter 
home  I  never  saw  but  with  it  all  it  was  to  save 
the  other  man's  life,  and  when  you  came  back 
you  will  find  all  my  bills  on  the  file;  everything 
is  paid  for,  and  I  will  give  you  all  there  is  before 
I  go.  I  will  not  want  anything." 

I  said: 

"I  hope  you  will  never  want  barroom  fixtures 
again. " 

He  said : 

"I  have  one  favor  to  ask  of  you  before  we  part, 
and  that  is,  when  I  am  gone  you  will  pardon  all 
the  mistakes  I  have  made  and  think  kindly  of 
me  sometimes,  and  send  a  prayer  to  your  God 
for  pardon  to  one  whose  life  has  been  all  a  mis 
take,  and  when  I  breathe  my  last  breath  on 
earth  it  will  be,  love  for  you,  my  fairy  queen,' 
good-bye!" 

He  took  my  hand  and  kissed  it,  then  he  turned 
away  and  wept  bitterly. 

"I  did  not  think  you  were  a  man  of  such 
strong  feelings,  and  as  for  tears,  I  did  not  think 
you  knew  what  they  were." 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  141 

I  was  surprised.  I  went  to  my  room  and  to 
bed,  but  yet  I  was  troubled,  for  there  was  some 
thing  in  his  manner  that  I  did  not  understand. 

The  next  morning  I  got  a  light  breakfast  and 
started.  It  was  very  cloudy  and  the  girl,  Anna, 
said  it  was  going  to  snow.  "If  I  were  you  I 
would  not  go." 

I  started  and  before  I  got  to  the  depot  it 
began  to  snow,  but  I  got  my  ticket  and  got  on 
the  car  and  as  we  started  the  wind  blew  a  fearful 
storm.  It  came  down  in  torrents.  I  tried  to 
get  a  hack  when  I  got  there,  but  none  were  out, 
for  the  weather  was  too  bad,  so  I  went  as  best  I 
could  to  the  only  hotel  there  was,  "The  Forest 
Queen,"  and  there  was  a  blazing  fire  in  the  fire 
place  and  pitch  was  burning.  That  was  a 
welcome  sight  to  me.  That  night  Sas,  one  of 
the  owners  of  the  coal  mines,  came,  as  they  were 
boarding  at  the  hotel,  and  said: 

"Such  a  storm  was  never  known." 

The  trains  were  all  stopped.  A  train  with 
twenty  car  loads  of  coal  was  blocked  and  as  we 
were  talking  about  the  mines  a  telegram  came 
for  me  to  come  home  as  fast  as  I  could,  as  Jeff 
had  taken  poison.  I  could  not  get  back,  for  it 
was  impossible.  As  I  was  going  to  bed  another 
telegram  came  saying  that  Mickey  was  dying. 
I  went  to  bed,  but  not  to  sleep,  for  the  wind  blew 
fiercely  and  moaned  and  whistled.  It  was  awful. 
Towards  morning  I  fell  asleep,  but  had  not 
slept  more  than  one  hour  when  I  was  awakened 
by  the  landlady  with  a  telegram  saying  that 
Jeff  was  dead. 

This  is  what  he  meant  that  where  he  was  going 


142  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

he  would  not  want  any  of  his  things.  Poor  boy! 
I  felt  sorry  for  him,  but  as  soon  as  the  storm 
stopped  they  put  on  the  snow  plows,  and  when 
the  night  passenger  train  left  I  was  on  it.  When 
I  got  to  Gunnison  there  was  a  crowd  of  men  to 
meet  me,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city  had  a  car 
riage  for  me.  We  drove  up  to  "Jack's  Cabin." 
It  was  all  dark  but  the  No.  2  dining  room,  and  I 
went  in  there.  When  I  got  in  it  was  full  of  men. 
Jeff  was  a  favorite  among  the  boys,  and  be  be 
longed  to  the  G.  A.  R.  and  to  the  Odd  Fellows. 
He  went  as  a  drummer  boy  in  the  rebellion. 

They  told  me  how  they  walked  him  up  and 
down  and  slapped  him  with  wet  towels  and 
boards,  and  how  he  begged  for  them  to  get  me 
so  he  could  see  me  when  he  closed  his  eyes  for 
ever,  and  he  told  all  the  boys  he  did  not  want 
to  live  without  me,  and  for  them  to  let  him  die. 
He  wanted  to  go  away  forever.  He  had  written 
two  letters,  one  for  his  only  sister  and  the  other 
for  me,  and  had  told  a  friend  where  he  had  left 
them,  but  when  I  went  to  look  for  them  there  was 
only  one  and  that  was  addressed  to  his  sister. 
The  one  I  should  have  gotten  was  missing.  He 
told  Anna  that  he  had  told  me  where  I  could 
find  money  in  the  letter,  and  he  must  have  told 
John  the  same,  for  the  man  had  money  after 
Jeff  was  buried. 

He  had  a  very  large  funeral.  He  was  buried 
in  a  fine  black  shroud  and  a  $125  casket.  I  paid 
for  everything,  and  after  the  funeral  the  saloon 
men  got  together  and  gave  a  bond  and  got  Jim 
out  of  jail.  He  was  all  broken  about  Jeff.  It 
was  not  long  after  that  my  trial  came  up  and  I 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  143 

was  acquitted.  Jim's  trial  came  up  and  he  was 
acquitted  on  the  grounds  of  self  defense.  He 
left  town  and  went  to  Montrose  and  got  on  the 
police  force.  He  had  not  been  on  six  months 
when  he  got  into  some  trouble  with  cattle  men 
and  they  formed  an  alliance  and  gotv  him  out  of 
jail  and  his  body  was  never  found,  and  that 
was  the  end  of  him. 

Both  Jeff  and  I  had  a  great  many  friends  in 
Montrose  and  they  blamed  Jim  for  the  death 
of  Mickey  and  getting  me  into  such  trouble. 
That  made  them  more  severe  on  him,  for  one  of 
the  cattle  men  came  to  me  and  told  me  Jim  had 
killed  five  different  men,  and  they  would  see 
that  he  killed  no  more. 

A  short  time  after  this  trouble  the  two  rail 
roads  were  finished  and  hundreds  of  people  had 
left  Gunnison  to  go  to  the  Ute  reservations  as 
soon  as  they  were  opened.  Montrose,  Grand 
Junction  and  Delta  were  all  in  Gunnison  county, 
but  they  had  divided  and  went  by  themselves 
and  left  all  the  debts  to  Gunnison  to  pay.  They 
had  not  been  gone  long  when  Gunnison  was 
deserted.  They  had  built  churches  and  the 
first  to  close  was  one  in  which  the  policeman  got 
whipped  and  driven  away.  The  Methodist  was 
the  only  one  for  a  long  time.  The  lower  town 
was  a  wreck. 

I  went  into  the  mountains  in  Wild  Cat  Gulch 
where  the  Indians  camped,  and  such  a  place  for 
game!  There  was  a  small  lake  full  of  fish,  and 
antelopes  by  the  hundreds.  Deer  and  all  kinds 
of  wild  animals;  pr?  irie  hens  went  in  droves  and 
elks  would  throw  their  large  horns  on  their 


144  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

backs  and  turn  their  faces  up  to  the  sky  and 
run  through  the  timbers  with  the  peculiar 
whistle  that  they  had.  And  it  would  not  be 
safe  to  get  in  their  way  while  they  are  running. 
I  had  four  men  with  me,  hunting  for  some 
rich  gold  ore,  but  we  could  not  find  where  it 
came  from,  but  we  found  a  large  vein  of  $20 
to  the  ton,  but  it  would  not  pay  at  that  time  to 
work  it,  so  I  let  it  stand.  A  prospector  had 
brought  me  some  silver  ore  that  he  got  forty 
miles  from  Gunnison,  but  the  claim  was  owned 
by  three  parties.  I  went  to  look  at  it  and  they 
had  been  digging  in  some  black  zinc.  I  went 
prowling  around  until  I  found  some  black 
stones,  and  in  a  crevice  near  those  boulders  I 
found  some  pure  silver.  I  marked  the  place 
and  said  nothing,  but  found  out  the  owners; 
one  that  owned  a  half  interest  had  left  and 
abandoned  his  interest.  I  wrote  him  and  made 
him  an  offer.  He  sent  the  deed  to  the  bank  by 
return  mail  and  so  I  became  half  owner  of  the 
Black  Queen  mine.  There  was  no  road  to  it 
then  but  the  county  commissioners  had  let  the 
Rock  Creek  road  to  three  of  the  South  Park 
contractors,  Dunbar,  Shafer  and  Walsh,  for 
$60,000.  Walsh  had  been  boarding  with  his 
nephew  at  my  place  for  a  long  time,  off  and  on, 
so  he  came  and  wanted  to  board  the  men  when 
they  were  in  town.  He  was  a  tall,  fine-looking 
old  gentleman,  and  was  a  warden  of  the  Catholic 
church,  and  a  widower.  He  had  been  very 
courteous  to  me  at  all  times,  but  now  he  came 
right  out  and  asked  me  to  marry  him.  He  had 
property  in  Cleveland ,.  ,:d  had  plenty  to  take  care 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  145 

of  me.  So  I  thought,  well,  I  am  nothing  but  a 
prey  for  everyone  to  plunder,  that  I  have  deal 
ings  with.  Being  alone,  it  seemed  as  though 
I  was  public  property  for  everyone  to  rob,  for 
the  men  I  sent  to  the  mine  ate  up  the  grub  and 
drew  their  pay  and  did  no  work  for  it  when  I 
was  not  there.  As  this  man  was  twenty  years 
older  than  I,  I  would  have  a  father  as  well  as  a 
husband,  and  so  I  said  I  would  think  of  it,  and 
two  weeks  later  this  Walsh  came  in  from  camp 
and  said  he  had  to  go  to  Denver  on  business, 
and  I  had  better  go  with  him  and  we  would  get 
married,  and  without  thinking  I  took  my  small 
satchel  and  not  even  a  change  of  clothing,  and 
took  the  train  and  went  with  him. 

We  went  to  the  St.  James  Hotel  and  he  got 
the  license  and  made  arrangements  for  Bishop 
Macerby  to  marry  us  the  next  morning. 

That  night  I  was  awakened  three  different 
times  by  children  crying,  and  yet  it  sounded  as 
though  they  were  a  distance  off.  The  next 
morning  it  worried  me  and  I  felt  more  like  going 
to  a  funeral  than  a  wedding  and  if  I  had  had 
one  friend  that  had  said,  "Don't  marry  that 
man,"  I  would  have  backed  out,  for  I  felt  that 
there  was  something  wrong.  I  could  not  tell 
just  what  it  was.  After  I  was  dressed  I  sat 
down  in  my  room  and  waited  for  him  to  come. 
He  did  not  come  till  near  nine  o'clock;  then  we 
went  to  breakfast,  then  to  the  Catholic  Cathe 
dral.  He  said  he  had  to  get  permission  from 
the  Bishop  to  marry  me,  as  I  was  not  a  Catholic, 
and  that  was  what  made  him  late. 

He  noticed  the  gloom  that  came  over  me  and 
said:  10 


146  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

"Cheer  up." 

I  said: 

"I  don't  know,  but  I  feel  I  am  doing  wrong  in 
getting  married,  and  I  would  rather  go  to  the 
depot  and  go  back  as  we  came.1* 

He  said: 

1  'I  did  not  think  you  were  such  a  coward." 

That  touched  me.     I  said: 

"I  am  no  coward,  but  I  would  not  live  with  a 
man  for  whom  I  had  no  respect,  even  if  I  were 
married  by  every  priest  in  the  country." 

When  we  got  to  the  church  there  was  a  man 
and  a  woman,  some  friends  of  his,  to  stand  for  us, 
and  I  did  not  like  them.  A  priest  and  a  bishop 
came  in  and  started  the  ceremony,  and  when  the 
bishop  said: 

"Will  you  have  this  man  for  your  lawful  hus 
band?"  " 

The  children  set  up  such  a  crying  and  a  man's 
voice  said  "No,"  so  close  to  me  that  I  jumped 
back  and  the  ring  fell  to  the  floor  and  rolled  to 
the  priest.  He  stood  by  the  bishop  and  stooped 
and  picked  it  up  and  handed  it  to  Walsh.  He 
grabbed  my  hand  and  put  the  ring  on  my  finger 
without  any  more  ceremony.  I  thought  all  of 
them  had  heard  the  voice,  it  was  so  plain.  It 
was  as  though  a  black  pall  had  been  thrown  over 
me,  for  I  knew  nothing  till  I  was  in  the  vestry 
room  and  told  to  sign  my  name  in  a  book.  When 
we  got  outside  he  said  to  the  man  and  woman: 

"We  will  get  a  carriage  and  see  the  sights." 

We  went  all  around  till  about  one  o'clock,  then 
went  back  to  the  hotel  for  dinner,  and  after  din 
ner  we  bade  good-bye  to  the  couple. 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  147 

Walsh  said  he  had  to  go  and  see  about  some 
business  and  he  left  me.  I  sat  in  the  room  till 
about  five  o'clock;  then  he  did  not  come,  so  I  took 
my  satchel,  went  to  the  depot  and  bought  a 
ticket  and  left  on  the  6.20  train.  I  left  word  by 
the  clerk  to  tell  Walsh,  if  he  came  before  the 
train  left,  to  come  to  the  train,  for  I  was  going 
to  leave  by  it. 

I  got  in  Gunnison  the  next  morning  and  I  was 
glad  to  be  home  again  and  the  gloom  wore  off. 
Then  I  thought  what  a  bride  I  was.  It  was 
nearly  two  weeks  before  Walsh  came  home  again 
and  he  was  very  affable.  He  stayed  home  only 
two  days,  then  went  to  his  camp,  so  I  did  not  see 
much  of  him. 

When  the  first  of  the  month  came  it  was  pay 
day  for  the  men.  They  all  came  to  town  to  get 
their  pay.  They  stayed  in  town  two  days,  then 
went  back  to  camp.  Everything  went  on  all 
right  for  a  few  months,  when  the  road  was  fin 
ished,  then  Walsh  came  home  and  said  they  did 
not  have  enough  money  to  pay  the  men,  and 
that  they  could  not  get  the  warrants  until  the 
commissioners  met  and  accepted  the  road, 
and  they  did  not  sit  till  the  first  of  the  month, 
and  as  it  was  only  the  fourteenth  the  men  could 
not  wait  till  the  commissioners  sat.  I  said 
nothing,  but  the  next  day  Walsh  came  and  said 
he  had  a  talk  with  his  partners  and  that  they  all 
agreed  to  give  me  $200  when  they  got  the  war 
rants  if  I  would  go  on  a  note  with  them  all  for 
$2,600  to  pay  the  men.  It  was  only  for  such  a 
short  time  that  I  would  be  nothing  out.  He 
said  I  had  better  make  the  $200.  I  said: 


148  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

"I  do  not  like  to  sign  notes,  and  you  had  bet 
ter  get  somebody  else." 

But  he  said  to  keep  on,  and  said  when  there 
was  a  chance  to  make  money  I  kicked  it  over. 
He  said  he  would  be  there  when  the  warrants 
were  issued,  and  that  he  would  take  care  of 
them.  But  still  I  had  that  same  feeling  as  when 
I  married  him,  and  nothing  had  come  of  it,  so  I 
went  to  the  bank,  but  when  I  got  there  the 
others  were  not  there. 

Walsh  took  a  note  from  his  pocket  with  his 
name  on  it  and  gave  it  to  me  to  sign.  I  said: 

"Why,  this  is  your  note;  where  do  the  others 
come  in?" 

He  said  he  would  take  the  note  to  the  others 
to  sign  as  soon  as  I  signed  it.  I  signed  the  note, 
but  as  soon  as  I  had  signed  it  the  same  voice 
said: 

"Be  silent  and  watch." 

That  night  the  men  came  in.  They  had  all 
been  to  the  office  to  get  their  pay  and  when 
they  got  back  they  were  very  angry  and  made 
threats,  as  they  only  got  half  of  it  and  had  to 
wait  two  weeks  to  get  the  balance,  and  as  there 
was  no  work  for  them  they  had  to  leave.  Most 
of  them  boarded  with  me  and  they  went  away 
and  never  paid  their  board.  Some  of  them  gave 
me  orders  to  get  the  balance  of  the  money.  The 
next  day  nearly  all  of  them  had  left  town  and  I 
did  not  see  much  of  Walsh,  as  they  were  busy 
settling  up,  and  were  under  bonds  to  complete 
the  road. 

The  1st  came  and  the  commissioners  sat,  but 
no  warrants  came  and  Dunbar  and  Shafer  had 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  149 

gone  to  Denver  to  look  for  another  contract; 
that  is  what  Walsh  said. 

I  asked  him  why  the  note  was  not  paid. 
He  said  he  would  look  after  that.  The  note  was 
long  past  due  and  the  cashier  sent  for  me.  He 
took  me  in  his  private  office  and  said: 

"  You  are  a  Mason's  widow,  and  I  am  a  brother 
and  am  sorry  to  have  to  tell  you  that  several  of 
us  have  been  watching  your  affairs  a  little,  and 
we  find  out  that  you  have  been  duped  by  the 
man  Walsh.  He  is  not  what  he  represents  him 
self  to  be,  and  you  will  have  to  pay  every  cent 
of  that  note. 

I  said: 

"What  about  the  warrants?" 

He  said: 

'They  have  signed  for  $60,000  but  they  only 
got  $30,000.  The  other  $30,000  went  to  the  com 
missioners,  $10,000  apiece  for  giving  them  the 
contract.  They  have  lost  at  least  $5,000,  as 
there  was  more  rock  work  than  they  thought. 
There  is  not  one  dollar  coming  to  them,  and  the 
other  two  have  skipped  out,  no  one  knows 
where,  and  Walsh  would  have  gone  too,  but  he 
is  going  to  try  to  get  your  "  Black  Queen"  mine, 
so  be  on  the  lookout,  for  we  all  think  that  he 
must  have  hypnotized  you  or  you  never  would 
have  married  him  after  refusing  such  a  hand 
some  man  as  Mickey  and  one  that  worshipped 
the  ground  you  walked  on.  Walsh  tried  to  get 
your  money  from  the  bank,  but  we  did  not  let 
him  have  any." 

I  said: 

"How  is  it  he  had  to  pay  all  the  money?" 


150  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

The  cashier  said  that  he  had  overdrawn  the 
warrants  $1,600,  and  if  he  had  not  paid  it  they 
would  have  put  him  in  jail  for  embezzlement, 
for  the  partners  knew  nothing  of  it  until  they 
came  to  a  settlement.  The  other  $1,000  he  had 
sent  away,  so  he  had  not  gotten  a  cent  of  it, 
"You  have  $1,800  in  the  bank  to  your  credit." 

I  said: 

"Make  out  a  check  for  it  and  put  it  on  the 
note  and  I  will  pay  the  rest  as  soon  as  I  can." 

He  said: 

"We  have  sold  out  to  the  other  bank,  as 
there  is  not  business  enough  for  two  banks  in 
this  town  now,  but  it  will  be  all  right  in  the 
other  bank,  for  you  are  good  for  it,  but  let  me 
caution  you;  be  on  your  lookout  for  that  man, 
he  would  not  hesitate  to  take  your  life  to  get 
that  mine." 

I  had  been  saving  up  my  money  to  get  the 
winter  supply  for  the  mine,  as  the  snow  would 
be  too  deep  to  go  in  or  out  till  May  or  June,  so 
all  that  was  wanted  had  to  be  put  in  before  the 
snow  fell.  As  I  went  out  of  that  bank  I  could 
not  describe  my  feelings,  for  I  knew  now  that 
I  had  been  robbed,  and  in  the  toils  of  a  robber 
and  a  murderer,  and  I  felt  my  lonely,  almost 
God-forsaken  condition.  If  the  earth  had  open 
ed  and  let  me  in,  it  would  have  been  a  blessing. 
When  I  got  home  there  was  a  gang  of  men  and 
it  took  my  attention  for  a  while. 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  151 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

'"THREE  days  after  this,  I  went  in  No.  1 
building.  It  was  deserted;  only  Walsh's 
nephew  had  the  back  room,  near  the  backdoor, 
and  as  I  got  in  the  hall  I  heard  angry  words. 
When  I  got  opposite  the  room  No.  7,  where 
Jimmy  McClease  used  to  sleep,  a  mysterious 
voice  said: 

"Come  in  and  be  silent." 

I  opened  the  door  as  quietly  as  I  could  and 
went  in  and  did  not  quite  close  the  door,  but 
held  it  ajar  so  I  could  hear  what  was  going  on. 

Johnny  said: 

"You  promised  me  the  money,  and  I  want  to 
get  out  of  this  place,  for  she  asked  me  for  my 
board  money,  and  when  I  told  her  you  would 
settle  it  she  said  that  you  had  not  paid  your 
own  board,  and  that  she  would  not  keep  any 
man,  and  you  mark  my  words  that  you  will 
have  to  run  against  a  sang,  and  if  she  gets  onto 
your  having  a  wife  living  she  will  put  you 
through  for  what  you  have  done." 

Walsh  said: 

"I  will  take  care  that  she  does  not  get  me 
for  I  will  put  her  where  she  will  not  do  any 
harm." 

Jim  said: 

"Well,  I  want  the  money  you  promised  me, 
and  if  you  do  not  get  it  for  me  I  will  send  to 
Leadville  for  my  sister  to  come  here  and  tell 


152  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

the  Captain  that  she  is  your  lawful  wife  for  I 
am  determined  that  you  shall  not  dupe  me  with 
your  damned  lies,  and  I  tell  you  to  get  the 
money,  and  quick,  too,  and  we  will  see  who  will 
come  out  on  top/' 

They  went  out  of  the  back  door  and  I  flew 
out  of  the  side  door  and  up  town  before  they 
got  out  of  the  front,  and  when  I  came  back  I 
had  my  hands  full  of  bundles  and  went  in  the 
front  door.  Walsh  was  waiting  at  the  door  for 
me.  He  said  a  man  had  been  to  see  him  about 
getting  a  contract  and  there  would  be  big 
money  in  it  if  he  could  go  at  once  and  see  about 
it.  I  said: 

"Well,  why  do  you  not  go  and  look  after  it?" 

He  said: 

"I  have  no  money  just  now  or  I  would  go  out 
on  tonight's  train.  If  you  will  let  me  have  $50 
I  will  pay  you  back  when  I  get  the  county 
warrants." 

I  said: 

"I  have  been  to  the  bank  and  they  have  to 
have  the  note  paid.  I  told  them  to  attach  the 
warrants,  but  they  found  out  that  there  are  no 
warrants;  they  have  all  been  drawn.  Now,  I 
want  to  know  who  will  pay  the  note?" 

He  looked  as  though  a  mask  had  been  thrown 
off  of  his  face,  for  instead  of  the  smiling,  religious, 
old  gentleman,  he  looked  like  an  incarnated 
demon,  and  such  a  hellish,  fiendish  look  I  never 
saw  on  a  human  face  before.  He  turned  away 
for  a  few  minutes  to  calm  his  anger,  then  came 
to  me  and  said : 

"If  you  give  me  the  fifty  I  will  get  the  contract 
and  pay  every  cent." 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  153 

I  said : 

"I  never  will  give  you  $50  or  take  your  word 
for  anything,  and  you  will  oblige  me  by  getting 
out  of  my  house,  for  you  have  misrepresented 
everything,  and  I  refuse  to  live  with  you  any 
longer." 

He  said : 

"Half  of  this  property  is  mine  and  half  of  all 
your  mines  are  mine.  I  married  half  of  every 
thing  you  owned  when  I  married  your  doll  face 
and  yellow  head,  and,  by  God,  you  shall  not 
rob  me  out  of  my  interest." 

Then  he  began  with  a  volley  of  curses,  and  the 
vilest  language  that  tongue  could  utter,  he 
used.  I  left  that  night.  I  slept  with  the  girl. 
The  next  day  was  election  day.  The  girl  had 
gone  up  town  and  the  house  seemed  empty,  only 
there  were  two  young  men  reading  in  the  office- 
room.  I  sat  reading  a  paper  when  Walsh  came 
in  with  a  paper  and  ordered  me  to  sign  it  without 
reading  it.  I  refused.  Then  he  said: 

"You  will  sign  it." 

And  when  I  read  it  it  was  an  agreement  that 
I  gave  him  half  of  all  my  property  and  half  of 
all  my  mining  property  and  all  the  mining  prop 
erty  I  would  own  for  the  next  five  years  and  when 
I  had  read  it  I  opened  the  range  door  and  threw 
it  in  the  fire.  He  grabbed  me  and  tried  to  stick 
my  head  in  the  fire.  I  clung  to  him  and 
screamed  until  the  two  men  came  and  took  him 
by  the  collar,  and  then  he  let  go  of  me.  I  ran 
to  my  room  and  got  a  gun  and  began  to  fire  it 
outdoors,  and  then  the  officers  came. 

I  said: 


154  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

"I  give  this  man  in  charge;  take  him  out  of 
my  house." 

They  took  him.  He  began  to  fight,  but  there 
were  too  many  for  him.  My  hair  was  nearly  all 
burned  and  my  face  and  neck  were  in  blisters. 
I  had  to  get  the  doctor  to  dress  the  burns.  I 
sent  all  of  his  things  out  of  my  house  to  a  friend 
of  his  and  sent  Johnny's  things  with  them. 

Then  I  sent  word  to  them  both  that  if  they 
came  to  my  house  again  I  would  shoot  them 
down  as  burglars. 

The  next  morning  I  went  up  with  my  attorney 
and  showed  my  burned  face.  The  court  fined 
him  $50  and  costs.  Then  I  swore  out  another 
warrant  for  him  to  keep  him  under  bond  to  keep 
the  peace,  and  they  bound  him  over  to  keep  the 
peace  for  three  months  and  a  $5,000  bond.  He 
had  a  very  valuable  gold  watch  and  chain  and  a 
gold -headed  cane,  so  he  gave  them  to  his  friend 
Macky  for  his  fine,  but  had  to  stay  in  jail  until 
he  could  get  bond. 

That  night  there  was  a  tall,  handsome,  well- 
dressed  young  man  came  to  see  me.  I  did  not 
recognize  him  at  first  till  he  said : 

"You  soon  forget  your  old  friends/' 

Then  I  said: 

"Why,  Hall,  the  cowboy!  how  you  have 
changed,  and  it  seems  you  always  find  me  in 
trouble." 

Then  I  told  him  all,  and  if  I  could  only  find 
out  about  where  Walsh  married  his  wife,  so  that 
I  could  get  proof.  I  gave  Hall  the  description 
of  Johnny,  so  that  he  might  try  to  see  him  and 
get  what  he  could  out  of  him.  He  went  away 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  155 

and  said  that  he  would  see  me  again.  The  next 
day  Walsh  got  bond  on  condition  that  he  would 
leave  town.-  I  said  to  the  girl  Anna : 

"We  must  watch  that  Walsh,  for  he  will  do 
something  before  he  leaves/' 

So  when  night  came  and  he  did  not  take  the 
6 :00  train  I  got  my  gun  and  watched  all  I  could, 
for  I  did  not  want  to  frighten  the  girl.  She 
went  to  bed  at  10 :00  and  at  11:00  I  put  out  the 
lights  as  though  I  was  going  to  bed,  but  sat  and 
watched  at  the  side  windows,  where  I  could  see 
everyone  who  came  down  the  street. 

I  was  just  going  to  my  room  when  I  heard  a 
faint  noise,  and  looking  out  through  a  crack  in 
the  door  saw  two  men  doing  something  under  the 
window  where  my  bed  was.  I  ran  as  fast  as  I 
could  to  the  side  door  and  opened  it  quietly  and 
took  aim  at  the  tall  man,  as  I  knew  that  he  was 
Walsh,  and  the  ball  struck  him  in  the  leg.  Then 
he  let  out  a  curse  that  he  would  kill  me.  I  sent 
another  bullet  whizzing  through  his  arm.  The 
other  man  pulled  him  away  and  they  boarded 
the  freight  train.  They  went  through  at  3:00 
at  daylight.  The  next  morning  I  went  to  see 
what  they  were  doing  and  found  twelve  sticks  of 
giant  powder  with  a  coil  of  fuse  and  four  caps, 
so  they  were  going  to  blow  up  me  and  the  build 
ings,  too,  had  it  not  been  for  that  other  side  of 
me,  as  Mickey  called  it,  for  I  was  determined  I 
would  have  no  more  of  his  bulldozing  or  be  in  the 
same  vibrations  with  such  demons  in  the  form  of 
men.  I  had  not  been  to  bed  and  no  one  was  up 
yet.  I  opened  the  barroom  door  and  went  in  and 
stood  on  the  very  spot  that  I  left  Mickey  weeping 


156  THE    FATE    OF    A  -  FAIRY 

the  last  time,  and  such  a  feeling  of  loneliness  and 
woe  came  over  me  that  I  stood  as  though  rooted 
to  the  ground. 

Only  a  few  months  ago  I  was  as  merry  and 
cheerful  as  a  meadow  lark  in  spring,  with  a  good 
bank  account,  and  did  not  owe  a  cent.  Now 
I  was  in  debt  and  they  kept  sending  in  bills  chat 
Walsh  had  gotten,  and  began  to  sue  me  for  the 
money  that  he  had  contracted  in  my  name. 
Then  self -remorse  seemed  to  take  possession  of 
me  and  I  groaned  aloud : 

"Oh!  why  did  I  marry  him,  and  what  is  this 
power  force?'' 

I  was  conscious  that  I  was  doing  wrong  and 
even  the  ring  was  dashed  to  the  floor  by  unseen 
hands.  It  could  not  be  spirit  power,  but  a 
power  far  stronger  than  that  which  forces  us  to 
our  destiny,  and  we  ought  to  be  on  our  guard 
all  the  time  for  strangers  that  we  know  not,  for 
some  people  carry  a  straight  light  around  them 
that  is  destruction  to  one  that  carries  the  op 
posite  light.  For  when  a  murder  wave  or  a 
suicide  wave  comes  to  a  city  you  will  know  there 
will  be  many  before  it  travels  on,  and  those  who 
fall  by  them  are  people  that  they  surround,  or 
are  in  harmony  with  the  dark  death  wave,  not 
those  who  are  in  the  light. 

There  is  a  triangle  of  three  powers  that  govern 
both  heaven  and  earth — electricity,  vibration, 
and  this  force  power,  I  know  not  what  to  call 
it,  but  it  conies  in  waves  and  in  different  colors 
and  does  its  work  according  to  its  color.  It  is 
plain  to  see  that  Walsh  attracted  the  dark, 
destructive  way  and  came  to  a  house  of  light 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  157 

and  brought  nothing  but  loss  and  misery,  and 
would  have  murdered  me  if  the  same  power  only 
in  the  light  was  the  strongest  around  me,  so 
failed  the  dark.  That  is  what  saved  me.  This 
power  is  the  strongest,  as  it  pushed  the  electricity 
and  pushed  the  vibration,  and  the  almighty 
waves  in  the  ocean  are  all  curtailed  by  it. 
Nations  rise  and  fall  by  it,  and  when  the  saints 
turn  their  attention  to  it  we  will  have  airships, 
and  farmers  will  use  it  instead  of  horses,  and  all 
trains  and  cars  will  be  pushed  by  it.  Vibration 
is  only  known  by  wireless  telegraphy.  One  little 
spark  of  it  only,  and  there  is  no  place  on  earth 
that  will  show  this  force  as  lively  as  in  the  mighty 
mountains.  With  the  electric  light  sparks,  with 
the  vibration  or  echo  of  the  roar  of  the  wild 
animals  in  the  dead  of  the  night  teaches  a  mind 
many  lessons.  I  stood  thinking  of  my  troubles 
until  I  thought  I  should  go  mad,  and  I  heard 
children  singing  hymns  I  used  to  sing  when  a 
child.  When  they  stopped  singing  a  child  said : 
"Fret  not,  mamma,  but  go  away  from  this 
place,  for  we  all  love  you  so  much,  poor,  dear 
mamma,  good-by  till  we  come  again." 
I  stretched  out  my  hands  and  cried  out : 
"Come  back  and  take  me  with  you." 
Then  I  fell  to  the  floor  in  a  fit  of  weeping  till  I 
thought  my  heart  would  break.  I  must  have 
been  in  this  place  for  over  two  hours  for  Anna 
came  to  me  and  said: 

"I  was  frightened  to  death,  for  when  I  went 
to  call  you  to  your  breakfast  I  found  out  that 
you  had  not  been  in  bed.  I  looked  everywhere 
for  you  and  you  are  in  the  very  place  where  Mr. 


158  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

Mickey  nearly  broke  his  heart  over  you.  Come 
away." 

She  threw  her  arms  around  me  and  brought 
me  to  the  dining  room,  but  I  was  sick  and  had 
to  go  to  bed.  I  was  taken  with  a  violent  pain  in 
my  side  and  went  into  spasms.  The  doctor  said 
I  had  a  violent  attack  of  gall  stones,  and  I  would 
cry  out  with  the  pain  in  my  side. 

Aunt  Susan,  a  colored  woman,  who  had  been 
working  for  me  ever  since  I  was  in  town,  came 
to  take  care  of  me,  and  the  place  was  closed 
between  my  spells.  I  sent  for  S.  Gill,  the 
banker,  and  gave  him  all  my  jewelry  and  silver 
and  papers  of  value,  with  the  keys  of  my  trunk, 
and  told  him  what  to  do  in  case  of  death,  as  the 
spells  were  getting  harder.  I  thought  I  would 
go  crazy,  as  the  pain  was  more  than  I  could 
stand.  They  gave  me  morphine  and  chloro 
form,  but  I  still  had  the  pain,  and  the  next  day 
the  doctors  said  that  the  stone  was  too  large  to 
pass  and  the  only  thing  that  would  save  me 
would  be  to  call  in  a  surgeon  at  once  and  have 
an  operation.  .They  were  going  to  have  a 
special  train  to  bring  Dr.  Cochem  from  Salida, 
when  Aunt  Susan  was  crying  as  I  lay  across  the 
bed. 

A  spasm  came  over  me  and  I  threw  out  my 
feet  quickly  and  knocked  Aunt  Susan  against 
the  wall  with  such  force  that  it  nearly  stunned 
her,  and  the  violence  of  the  sudden  jerk  un- 
lodged  the  stone. 

That  night  I  had  a  congested  chill  that  nearly 
took  me.  They  had  hot  irons  to  my  feet  and 
worked  with  me  for  two  hours ;  then  I  fell  asleep 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  159 

and  did  not  wake  till  next  morning,  but  I  did 
not  get  over  it  for  several  weeks. 

When  I  began  to  sit  up,  Anna  told  me  Hall 
had  been  to  see  me  every  day.  He  had  to  go 
away,  but  would  come  back,  as  he  had  some 
thing  to  tell  me,  and  in  ten  days  after  I  was  up 
Hall  came  and  told  me  he  had  gotten  Johnny 
drunk  and  found  out  that  Walsh  was  married 
to  his  sister  by  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  had 
two  children,  and  that  he  was  a  Molly  McGuire 
and  a  murderer  in  Pennsylvania,  and  that  he  had 
horsewhipped  a  priest  on  the  altar  for  denounc 
ing  the  Molly  McGuires.  Johnny  was  not  with 
him  when  he  tried  to  blow  me  up,  but  another 
man,  a  morphine  fiend. 

Walsh  had  promised  him  $5,000  from  the 
" Black  Queen"  mine  if  he  would  help  him  get 
way  with  me,  and  he  had  not  done  with  me  yet, 
for  he  would  sneak  back  and  fix  me,  for  he 
swore  he  would  not  be  cheated  out  of  my  prop 
erty. 

Hall  had  gone  to  the  mining  camp  called 
Aspen,  and  there  was  a  big  boom  on,  so  I  got  him 
to  get  me  a  place  to  move  some  of  my  things  to 
and  start  up  in  business  there,  so  he  went  and 
in  a  few  days  I  received  a  letter  telling  me  of  a 
good  chance,  but  it  had  to  be  secured  at  once. 
He  had  paid  $10  for  one  month 's  rent.  I  could 
not  go,  for  I  was  too  weak  and  sick.  I  got  a 
man  and  Aunt  Susan  to  pack  everything  we 
wanted  to  take,  and  the  week  after  we  started 
with  three  heavy  loads,  two  with  four  and  one 
with  two  horses.  I  went  with  the  teams  and  it 
took  us  four  days.  We  camped  out  three  nights, 


160  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

and  when  we  got  to  the  place  I  found  it  was  one 
of  the  best  corners  in  the  town.  It  was  an  old 
log  cabin  and  I  got  carpenters  and  tore  off  the 
front  and  put  in  a  store  window  and  a  new  front ; 
then  it  looked  like  a  business  place. 

As  soon  as  the  boys  knew  I  had  come  to  town 
they  all  crowded  the  house  and  I  had  more  than 
I  could  take  care  of.  The  old  lady  who  owned 
the  place  got  sick  and  sent  for  me  and  I  paid  her 
some  money  down  and  gave  her  a  trust  deed 
and  bought  the  property.  As  I  made  money  I 
built  a  rough  board  building,  and  I  soon  had 
$400  a  month  as  rent  coming  in  and  was  making 
money  fast  again,  when  that  evil  genius  Walsh 
came.  He  was  not  under  bond  to  keep  the  peace 
in  that  county  and  the  third  day  that  he  was  in 
town  he  began  to  sue  me  for  half  of  all  my  prop 
erty.  I  got  a  good  lawyer  and  told  him  every 
thing.  He  advised  me  to  send  for  my  pension, 
as  Walsh  was  not  my  husband,  but  I  had  to  set 
the  marriage  aside  as  absolutely  void,  so  I 
brought  suit  against  him  for  divorce.  When 
the  trial  came  he  had  five  different  men  that  I 
had  never  seen,  to  swear  against  me,  one  the 
morphine  fiend.  He  was  with  him  when  he  tried 
to  blow  me  up,  and  two  were  penitentiary  men, 
who  had  just  got  out  and  were  broke,  and  he 
was  going  to  make  them  rich  if  they  would  help 
him  get  the  property  from  me,  but  it  was  no 
good ;  the  jury  said  if  I  was  what  he  tried  to  make 
me  out  he  would  not  want  to  keep  me,  but  would 
be  trying  to  get  rid  of  me.  I  won.  The  suit  he 
brought  had  to  be  tried  in  Gunnison,  as  he  had 
made  another  contract  out  and  forged  my  signa- 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  161 

ture  and  he  tried  to  blacken  my  character.  He 
told  terrible  things  of  me,  and  all  false.  He 
stole  a  very  fine  span  of  mules  and  wagon  and 
harness  out  of  my  barn  at  night  and  got  one  of  the 
witnesses  to  drive  them  away.  I  had  to  pay 
$500  for  the  outfit.  I  went  to  the  sheriff,  but 
he  did  not  try  to  get  them  back,  for  Walsh  had 
told  him  he  had  paid  for  them,  and  a  lot  of 
slander,  so  I  had  to  go  to  Gunnison  and  get 
another  lawyer  to  defend  the  suit.  When  it 
came  to  trial  he  had  the  fiend  and  the  same 
witness  that  he  had  on  the  divorce  case  to  swear 
they  saw  me  sign  the  contract.  My  attorney 
had  gotten  the  date  of  one  of  the  prisoners,  and 
he  was  in  the  pen  at  the  time,  and  as  soon  as  he 
found  this  out,  he  skipped  out.  The  judge 
could  see  through  the  game  and  I  won  the  suit. 

Some  of  the  men  in  town  sent  him  a  notice  to 
leave  town  or  they  would  attend  to  him,  for  they 
were  sick  of  his  game.  They  knew  he  was  try 
ing  to  rob  me  and  would  not  stand  for  it,  so  he 
left.  I  sent  in  my  pension  papers  as  the  attor 
ney  had  advised  me  to,  and  waited  for  over  a 
month,  but  they  did  not  come.  I  received  a 
latter  from  Gunnison  that  I  would  be  arrested 
by  the  United  States  district  attorney  for  trying 
to  draw  a  pension  when  I  had  married.  Walsh 
sent  a  copy  of  the  marriage  to  the  pension  de 
partment  in  Washington,  but  did  not  tell  that 
he  was  a  married  man  at  the  time,  so  I  had  to  get 
a  Pinkerton  detective  to  find  out  who  married 
him  to  wife  No.  1  and  the  witness  to  the  mar 
riage. 

I  had  to  neglect  my  business  and  it  took  all 
11 


162  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

the  money  I  could  get  to  defend  all  these  suits, 
and  the  attorneys  held  me  up,  for  they  knew 
I  had  a  good  mine  and  they  wanted  to  get  a 
slice  out  of  it.  The  attorney  charged  me  $500 
for  the  divorce  suit,  and  the  Denver  attorneys, 
two  of  them,  $1,000  apiece  to  defend  the  case 
in  the  United  States  Court  before  Judge  Hallet. 

Walsh  was  afraid  of  his  wife,  so  he  sent  her  to 
Canada,  where  they  could  not  get  her  as  a  wit 
ness.  I  gave  bond  in  Denver  for  $5,000  and 
did  not  leave  until  after  the  trial,  and  when  the 
trial  came  Walsh  was  there  as  prosecuting  wit 
ness,  but  when  he  saw  the  judge  and  the  three 
witnesses  to  his  marriage,  he  got  out  as  fast  as 
he  could  and  went  to  Canada. 

The  judge  told  the  jury  that  they  could  not 
find  me  guilty  of  perjury  by  signing  my  name 
Ellen  E.  Jack,  for  that  was  my  name,  and  I  had 
no  right  to  any  other.  The  jury  was  out  about 
ten  minutes  and  brought  in  a  verdict  of  not 
guilty,  and  I  was  honorably  discharged  from  the 
court.  When  I  was  discharged  all  the  jury 
came  and  shook  hands  with  me.  The  district 
attorney  made  out  papers  to  have  Walsh  ar 
rested  for  bigamy  and  perjury,  but  the  bird  had 
flown,  and  I  learned  that  his  wife  and  two 
children  had  all  died  of  diphtheria  in  six  weeks 
after  they  got  into  Canada.  Walsh  had  gotten 
a  contract  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  and  had 
made  over  $50,000  on  it,  and  after  that  had 
gotten  a  contract  on  the  Oregon  Short  Line  and 
had  made  a  large  sum  of  money  and  was  con 
sidered  a  wealthy  man. 

The  morphine  fiend  was  taken  to  a  hospital 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  163 

in  Denver,  where  he  told  all  that  Walsh  had 
promised,  and  as  he  was  dying  he  cursed  Walsh 
for  his  villiany. 

I  stayed  in  Denver  two  days  after  the  trial, 
then  went  to  Gunnison,  then  to  the  "Black 
Queen"  mine,  as  I  had  leased  it,  but  they  were 
not  to  take  any  mineral  out  of  the  ground  till 
the  payment  was  made,  and  when  I  got  there 
I  was  surprised  to  see  all  the  sacks  full  of  ore 
and  ready  for  shipment,  about  three  car  loads. 
When  I  saw  the  foreman  he  told  me  he  expected 
the  jacks  to  take  the  mineral  to  the  depot  and 
ship  it  to  the  Denver  smelter,  and  he  said  he 
guessed  they  did  not  reckon  on  my  coming  back 
so  soon. 

I  said: 

"Well,  they  will  not  take  this  mineral  till 
they  have  complied  with  their  contract." 

At  this  time  Mr.  Aller  came  up  to  me  and  said: 

"Why,  we  did  not  expect  you  here." 

I  said: 

"By  the  looks  of  things  I  don't  think  you  did, 
and  I  have  had  notice  from  the  bank  that  there 
has  been  no  payment  on  the  bond,  and  until 
there  is  you  cannot  move  that  mineral." 

He  said  in  a  sneering  way: 

"And  who  will  stop  me?" 

I  said: 

"I  will." 

He  laughed  in  my  face.  I  went  down  the 
trail  to  the  "Fargo  cabin"  and  said  to  the  three 
men  that  owned  the  "Fargo  cabin:" 

"Lend  me  your  rifles  and  your  shot  gun;  load 
them  and  give  me  some  rounds  of  shot." 


164  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

They  did,  and  also  helped  me  carry  them  to  a 
bush  on  the  " Queen"  grounds. 

I  paid  them  to  watch  that  night  and  stayed  in 
their  cabin,  and  another  miner  came  from  Crys 
tal,  the  Httle  town  at  the  foot  of  the  trail.  He 
said  that  there  were  three  jack  punchers  and  a 
big  herd  of  jacks,  and  they  were  coming  to  the 
" Queen"  early  in  the  morning  to  take  the 
mineral.  I  went  to  the  "Queen."  When  I 
heard  the  dogs  barking  and  the  bells  ringing  on 
the  jack's  necks,  as  they  always  have  trained 
dogs  and  have  bells  with  a  herd  of  pack  donkeys, 
I  got  one  of  the  men  to  help  me  carry  the  rifles 
down  to  the  dump,  where  all  the  sacks  were 
filled  up,  and  put  the  rifles  by  them.  I  had  my 
two  .44 's  with  me  and  I  stood  by  the  sacks.  As 
the  bark  of  the  dogs  came  nearer,  Mr.  Aller 
came  to  the  dump  and  when  he  saw  me  he 
turned  as  white  as  death  and  said: 

"What  in  hell  are  you  doing  here?" 

I  said: 

"I  am  on  my  own  ground  and  you  are  a  thief > 
and  I  have  the  right  to  protect  my  property. 
Your  bond  and  lease  are  forfeited.  You  get  off 
this  property." 

By  this  time  the  jacks  were  coming  on  the 
jump.  I  stopped  them.  Then  the  owner  came 
to  see  what  was  the  matter. 

I  said: 

' '  Mr .  Benton ,  turn  your  jacks  off  this  property, 
for  not  one  sack  of  mineral  leaves  this  place." 

Aller  had  jumped  upon  the  shaft  house  and 
got  his  check  book  out  and  was  swinging  it 
around  and  yelling: 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  165 

"A  thousand  dollars  if  you  take  that  mineral." 

Then  Benton  blew  his  whistle  as  a  signal  for 
his  two  men  to  crowd  the  jacks,  and  as  the 
leaders  pushed  upon  the  dump  I  shot  them 
down.  Benton  tried  to  get  his  big  gun  out  of 
his  belt,  then  I  sent  a  shot  and  took  his  ear  off 
as  clean  as  though  it  had  been  cut  off,  and  was 
going  to  send  another,  when  he  threw  up  his 
hands  and  yelled  out: 

"I  am  shot." 

I  sent  a  shot  and  shot  the  check  book  and  two 
of  the  tips  of  Aller 's  fingers  off;  then  he  began 
to  yell.  I  changed  the  gun  from  the  left  hand 
to  the  right,  then  Aller  jumped  off  of  the  shaft 
house  and  got  behind  some  logs.  I  said  to 
Benton: 

"Turn  your  jacks  and  go  down  the  trail." 

He  said: 

"You  will  shoot  me  when  I  pass  you." 

I  said: 

"I  do  not  want  your  miserable  life  and  if  you 
do  as  I  tell  you  I  will  not  hurt  you." 

Then  he  came  and  he  was  bleeding  awfully. 

I  said: 

"Wet  your  handkerchief  and  put  it  to  your 
head  and  stop  the  flow  of  blood." 

He  blew  his  whistle  and  had  the  jacks  turn 
and  went  to  his  pony  and  got  to  town  as  fast 
as  he  could  to  get  his  wounds  dressed.  Aller 
had  sneaked  out  and  down  the  trail  to  get  the 
morning  train  to  Gunnison  to  get  me  arrested. 
When  I  looked  around  there  was  not  a  man, 
for  they  had  all  gone  to  the  mine  to  escape  the 
shots.  I  was  all  alone  and  I  could  not  describe 


166  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

the  contempt,  that  I  had  for  these  cowards. 
There  I  was  with  three  bad  men  armed  with 
big  Colt  .44's  and  Aller  with  his  check  and  32 
men  left  me  all  alone  to  defend  myself  and 
property.  When  all  was  over  they  came  up 
like  whipped  curs,  but  I  turned  and  went  down 
the  trail. 

All  was  excitement  in  the  camp.  I  went  to 
the  Fargo  cabin  and  sent  one  of  the  men  for  the 
rifles.  I  knew  they  would  not  be  wanted  again, 
so  I  waited  for  the  sheriff  to  come.  One  of  the 
men  had  gone  to  Crystal  to  find  out  what  he 
could,  and  he  heard  the  jack  man  say  that  I  had 
killed  seven  jacks.  They  rolled  down  the  hill 
two  thousand  feet  into  Broth  creek,  so  if  I  had 
not  killed  them  the  fall  would  have.  The  jack 
men  were  making  big  threats.  Benton  had 
gone  to  the  mountains  to  get  a  doctor. 

The  next  day  the  sheriff  came  with  a  warrant 
for  me.  He  had  bought  the  finest  span  of  horses 
and  rig  that  he  could  find  in  Crystal.  That  was 
as  far  as  they  could  go,  and  when  we  got  through 
to  Crested  butte  we  had  to  stay  till  the  train 
went  to  Gunnison  the  next  morning. 

The  sheriff  had  engaged  the  best  room  in  the 
best  hotel  in  town  for  me.  There  was  a  show  in 
town  that  night  and  I  said : 

''Doc."  (that  was  the  name  the  sheriff  went 
by),  "what  are  you  going  to  do  with  me?  I  want 
to  go  to  the  show." 

He  said : 

"Go  where  you  like,  only  be  on  time  for  the 
train  in  the  morning." 

I  said: 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  167 

'Tell  them  to  get  me  up,  for  I  have  had  no  sleep 
for  two  nights  and  will  be  sleepy  in  the  morning. " 

So  I  went  to  the  Fealen  House  and  told  Mrs. 
Fealen  to  come  with  me  to  the  show.  We  were 
a  little  late,  so  when  we  were  going  down  the 
street  there  was  an  excitement  and  the  miners 
shouted : 

"Hurrah  for  our  mountain  queen!'* 

I  stood  and  faced  the  crowd ;  then  they  clapped 
their  hands  and  shouted: 

" Brave  woman!  our  mountain  queen!" 

Then  I  bowed  to  them  and  sat  down.  As 
soon  as  it  was  known  what  I  had  done  there  was 
quite  an  excitement.  It  seemed  that  every  one 
but  myself  was  excited,  for  they  expected  to 
see  me  a  prisoner,  and  there  I  was  with  a 
woman  at  the  show. 

After  the  show  the  miners  waited  for  me  to 
come  out ;  then  they  shook  my  hands  nearly  off 
and  I  was  afraid  they  would  pick  me  up  and 
carry  me  on  their  shoulders  to  the  hotel.  I  had 
to  beg  them  not  to,  for  they  shouted : 

"Let's  carry  her." 

Crested  butte  is  a  coal-mining  town  and  the 
end  of  the  railway,  and  there  are  quite  a  number 
of  English  whom  they  call  "Cousin  Jacks,"  and 
they  are  very  fond  of  anything  that  is  gritty, 
or  as  they  call  it,  plucky,  and  the  report  was 
that  I  had  killed  some  men.  I  knew  nothing  of 
that  till  afterwards.  There  were  all  sorts  of 
stories  going  about.  I  was  glad  to  get  away 
and  go  to  the  hotel,  and  the  next  morning  before 
daylight  they  were  pounding  on  my  door  for 
me  to  get  up. 


168  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

I  went  and  got  a  cup  of  coffee  and  went  to  the 
depot  to  wait  for  the  train,  and  nearly  every  one 
that  came  to  the  depot  came  up  to  me  and  shook 
hands.  As  soon  as  I  got  on  the  train  I  went  to 
sleep,  and  when  we  got  to  Gunnison  there  was 
quite  a  crowd  to  meet  us.  A  carriage  was  wait 
ing  and  Aunt  Susan  pushed  her  way  thorugh 
to  me  and  threw  her  arms  around  me  and  said : 

"The  Lord  bless  you,  I  have  cried  a  wash  tub 
full  of  tears.  How  many  did  you  kill?" 

I  said: 

"I  do  not  know,  but  they  say  I  killed  seven." 

She  said : 

"Oh,  the  good  Lord,  they  will  hang  you  seven 
times." 

And  she  began  crying  again.  I  thought  the 
people  had  all  gone  crazy.  There  was  so  much 
excitement.  The  sheriff  came  to  me  and  said : 

"Get  in  the  carriage  and  go  home  and  I  shall 
send  for  you  when  I  want  you." 

Then  he  said  to  Aunt  Susan : 

"Have  you  got  the  captain's  breakfast  ready  ?" 

She  said: 

"No,  they  said  you  were  going  to  lock  her  up." 

He  said : 

"Get  in  with  her." 

Then  he  told  the  driver  to  go  to  "Jack's 
Cabin"  and  leave  me  there,  and  as  the  carriage 
started  the  crowd  set  up  a  shout  and  we  dashed 
out  and  were  soon  at  my  home. 

Aunt  Susan  jumped  out  and  opened  the  door. 
She  had  a  good  fire,  for  it  was  very  cold,  and  she 
got  me  a  light  breakfast.  Then  I  told  her  I 
was  going  to  lie  down  and  for  her  not  to  let 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  169 

anyone  bother  me.  I  picked  up  my  guitar  and 
played  and  sang  "Home  Again  from  a  Barren 
Shore." 

'To  'de  good  Lord,  you  would  play  and  sing 
if  you  saw  the  rope  on  de  gallows  waiting  to  hang 
you  after  you  had  killed  seven  men;  you  sing 
as  though  nothing  had  happened." 

I  said : 

"Who  said  I  killed  seven  men?" 

She  said : 

"Why,  you  told  me  yourself  that  you  killed 
seven." 

I  said: 

"I  did  not  say  seven  men,  I  thought  you 
meant  the  jacks  I  killed." 

She  said : 

"They  say  you  killed  a  lot  of  men,  and  that  is 
why  there  is  so  much  excitement." 

So  I  began  to  see  why  the  men  seemed  to  be 
crazy.  I  went  to  bed  and  to  sleep,  for  I  was 
worn  out.  I  little  bit  before  10  o'clock  the 
deputy  came  and  told  me  to  be  at  Judge  Piper's 
court  at  10  o'clock,  so  I  dressed  and  went  up  to 
the  court.  My  attorney  was  there  with  a  copy 
of  the  bond  and  lease,  and  the  courtroom  would 
not  hold  half  of  the  people  who  had  gathered 
there  to  hear  the  trial.  It  was  proven  that  if 
he  had  taken  the  mineral  they  would  have  put 
the  money  in  their  pockets  and  the  mine  would 
have  to  pay  the  men  and  all  the  debts  that  had 
been  contracted  against  the  mine,  and  if  I  had 
killed  them  I  would  have  been  justified,  for  if 
they  had  any  right  to  the  mineral  they  should 
have  taken  it  by  leave,  not  by  force. 


170  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

They  had  to  pay  all  the  costs,  over  $200,  and 
as  Aller  was  not  a  resident  of  that  county  they 
locked  him  up  till  he  paid,  for  they  thought  he 
would  skip  out  and  not  pay,  as  he  would  have 
done  with  me  if  he  could  have  gotten  the 
mineral. 

Then  the  jack  man  wanted  pay  for  his  jacks, 
but  I  had  ordered  him  to  take  them  off  of  my 
property,  and  it  was  proven  that  he  pulled  his 
gun  to  shoot  before  I  shot  at  him,  so  they  all 
got  the  worst  of  it.  I  had  my  attorney  notify 
Aller  not  to  go  on  the  "Queen"  property  any 
more,  as  his  bond  was  forfeited.  I  was  going 
back  to  work  the  mine  myself.  Then  the 
sneery  look  on  his  face  turned  to  one  of  hatred, 
for  he  knew  he  could  not  go  back  with  me  there, 
for  the  next  time  I  took  aim  at  him  he  would 
never  come  to  have  me  arrested  again.  I  went 
to  Crested  butte  the  next  day  and  from  there  to 
the  Queen  with  a  small  train  of  burros  with 
provisions,  for  I  had  found  out  that  there  was 
not  much  of  anything  at  the  mine.  The  powder 
was  all  gone  and  nothing  had  been  paid,  for 
that  had  gone  up  to  the  mine.  I  began  to  get 
things  straightened  out  before  the  snow  came, 
as  it  was  getting  near  winter,  so  I  sent  the 
jacks  back  packed  with  mineral  and  came  and 
took  it  all.  They  sent  it  to  Denver,  and  in 
four  days  returned  with  a  check  for  it.  Then  I 
went  and  got  it  cashed  and  paid  all  the  men 
and  let  two-thirds  of  them  go,  for  I  could  not 
get  powder  and  grub  enough  to  keep  them  all 
winter. 

Aller  had  a  large  force  of  men  to  get  all  of 


CAPTAIN  JACK  STARTING  FOR  HER  MINES. 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

the  ore  out  and  skip  out  with  it,  so  I  kept  a  few 
of  the  best.  I  had  to  go  to  the  mountains 
again  and  it  took  me  three  days  to  do  the  busi 
ness  I  had  to  do;  the  fourth  day  I  went  back. 
It  was  late  when  I  got  to  Crystal,  and  Crystal 
is  a  little  over  a  mile  below  the  "  Black  Queen" 
mine,  at  the  foot  of  the  trail.  We  began  to 
climb  at  Crystal  up  to  the  mine.  It  was  moon 
light  and  I  had  ten  pounds  of  beefsteak  in  a 
sack  to  keep  the  men  going  until  the  jacks  came 
up  two  days  later  on,  and  when  I  had  gotten 
to  a  place  about  half  way  up  the  mountain, 
where  three  trails  come  together,  I  stood  rooted 
to  the  ground,  for  "crack!"  went  the  bushes 
and  two  eyes  like  two  balls  of  fire  were  close  to 
me,  for  I  did  not  see  it  till  I  was  right  on  it. 

I  stood  still,  I  dropped  the  beef  and  stood  still 
for  a  few  minutes,  frightened  nearly  to  death, 
for  I  had  no  gun  and  I  did  not  know  what  it 
was.  It  was  a  large  animal.  It  looked  at  me 
and  I  at  it;  then  I  got  over  my  fright  and  put 
out  my  hand  and  said: 

"You  go  your  way  and  I  will  go  mine.  I  do 
not  want  to  hurt  you  nor  you  me,  so  go." 

And  as  if  it  understood  me  it  started  down 
the  lower  trail.  I  waited  to  give  it  time,  then 
I  picked  up  my  sack  and  started  on  the  middle 
trail,  and  when  I  had  gone  about  fifty  yards  the 
thing  stopped  and  turned  around  to  see  if  I 
were  after  it.  I  shouted: 

"Go  on;  I  want  no  truck  with  you.  I  like 
you  best  at  a  distance." 

It  smelled  meat  and  did  not  know  if  I  was  the 
meat  or  not.  I  was  getting  very  tired  when 


172  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

the  Fargo  cabin  came  in  sight.  Then  I  began 
to  whoop  and  two  of  the  men  came  and  carried 
my  bag.  I  told  them  what  I  had  seen  and 
when  I  told  them  I  trembled  with  fear.  They 
laughed  until  the  mountains  echoed  with  the 
loud  laugh  at  the  very  idea  of  my  being  afraid 
of  a  devil,  let  alone  a  mountain  lion,  for  that 
was  what  it  was. 

We  had  another  carload  of  mineral  ready  to 
ship  and  the  jacks  were  bringing  provisions  up 
and  taking  loads  of  mineral  back  to  the  depot. 
It  began  to  snow  and  we  wanted  to  get  all  the 
provisions  in  before  it  got  to  be  too  deep  with 
snow.  At  twelve  o'clock  at  night  it  blew  up  a 
fearful  storm  and  I  went  up  and  dressed,  for 
the  log  cabin  was  in  danger  of  a  slide,  and  I 
was  afraid  that  if  the  two  trees  above  the 
cabin  blew  down  they  would  take  the  cabin  to 
the  bottom  of  the  river,  which  was  over  two 
thousand  feet  to  the  bottom  of  the  mountain, 
and  so  steep  that  we  could  hardly  stand  when 
off  the  trail. 

I  heard  big  rocks  rolling  down  the  mountains 
and  the  winds  whistled.  The  barking  of  the 
coyotes  and  the  roaring  of  the  bears  were  a 
fright.  I  would  have  gone  to  the  mine  and 
down  in  it,  but  I  was  afraid  of  rocks  striking  me. 
The  mine  was  about  seven  hundred  feet  from 
the  cabin  and  we  had  to  pass  a  draw  before  we 
got  to  the  shaft  house,  and  all  the  slides  came 
down  that  way.  It  was  blowing  and  snowing 
fearfully.  It  started  just  as  the  graveyard  shift 
shots  went  off  and  kept  up  for  two  days  and 
nights,  and  we  were  in  a  fix,  for  we  were  not 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  173 

prepared  for  such  a  storm  as  this,  and  it  was 
impossible  for  the  jacks  to  come  now,  so  we 
had  to  go  on  short  allowance.  I  gave  the  men 
bacon  for  breakfast,  steak  for  dinner  and  ham 
for  supper. 

The  fourth  day  I  said  to  the  foreman : 

"There  is  a  pair  of  snow  shoes;  if  they  were 
fixed  up  I  would  try  and  get  out  on  them." 

So  the  men  got  them.  They  were  eight  feet 
long  and  they  fixed  them  up,  and  got  the  pole 
fixed  with  a  new  spike  at  the  end,  and  at  five  in 
the  morning  I  started  with  the  little  dog  Fan 
on  my  back,  in  a  flour  sack.  I  had  to  have 
shoes  for  the  mountains  were  so  steep  and  the 
brakes  on  the  trail  were  covered  with  snow.  I 
got  down  to  Crystal  and  went  in  the  only  store 
there,  and  rested  a  short  time.  The  man  said 
I  could  not  get  to  Gothic,  for  the  snow  was  very 
deep  in  the  Scafield  Park. 

All  the  miners  had  to  leave  several  days  before 
to  keep  from  being  snowed  in,  and  the  snow 
slides  were  coming  down  the  mountain.  He 
begged  me  not  to  try  to  go,  but  I  could  not  go 
back  to  the  "Queen"  and  I  could  not  stop  there, 
as  it  might  snow,  so  I  started.  When  I  got  to 
the  park  I  looked  for  the  log  cabins,  but  could 
not  see  them.  I  saw  one  little  black  spout  on 
the  side  of  this  mountain,  so  I  sailed  up  to  it 
and  it  was  the  top  of  a  stovepipe.  The  cabins 
were  all  snowed  under. 

The  sun  was  getting  very  high,  when  my  face 
began  to  burn  and  I  could  hear  the  slides  coming 
down  the  mountains  like  peals  of  thunder. 
When  I  got  to  the  top  of  one  mountain  I  had  to 


174  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

pass  what  they  called  the  " Windy  Point."  I 
prayed  for  a  guide  to  take  me  past  it  safe,  for 
it  was  the  worst  place  on  the  road,  and  slide  after 
slide  came  down  and  carried  everything  with 
them. 

As  I  started  to  go  quickly,  Fan,  the  dog, 
began  to  whine.  She  must  have  scented  danger, 
for  she  had  never  moved  all  the  way  until  I  got 
to  this  place.  I  stayed  for  a  minute  or  two  to 
get  my  breath  before  I  shot  around  the  point. 
As  I  stood  a  peal  of  thunder  came,  and  down 
came  a  slide.  As  soon  as  it  had  gotten  a  safe 
distance  I  went  like  the  wind  so  as  to  get  over 
before  another  slide  came,  and  I  was  not  any 
too  soon,  as  I  could  hear  them  coming  in  all 
directions.  The  hot  sun  loosened  them  and  down 
they  came.  I  would  slide  up  to  a  tree  once  in  a 
while  and  stand  up  against  it  and  rest.  Being 
on  those  long  snow  shoes  so  long  gave  me  a  back 
ache.  It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  and  I  had  to 
go  at  least  ten  miles  farther.  It  was  quite  dark 
when  I  got  to  Garyese's  Hotel  in  Gothic,  and 
when  I  took  my  shoes  off  some  of  the  miners 
came  to  help  me  and  when  I  went  in  the  sitting 
room  the  boys  said : 

"Oh!  you  have  got  an  awfully  blistered  face." 

I  said : 

"I  can  hardly  see;  I  believe  I  am  going  snow- 
blind,  for  I  forgot  to  put  black  over  my  eyes." 

One  of  the  men  took  out  his  knife  and  stuck 
it  in  the  big  blister  on  my  face  and  let  the  water 
run  out  and  another  got  a  raw  potato  and 
scraped  it  to  put  on  my  eyes  to  keep  me  from 
going  blind,  and  the  hot,  burning  feeling  and  my 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  175 

burning  eyes  and  face  and  the  dizzy  feeling  I 
had!  I  was  in  a  pitiful  plight.  I  could  hardly 
go  upstairs  to  bed  and  had  to  get  the  landlady 
to  help  me  get  in  bed,  and  when  I  did  I  could 
not  sleep  till  nearly  morning.  I  did  not  get  up 
until  late  the  next  morning,  and  then  it  was 
nearly  noon,  and  I  went  and  made  arrangements 
to  get  a  horse  and  go  over  the  mountain  pass  to 
Aspen.  They  were  at  work  cutting  a  road  over 
the  pass.  The  snow  was  not  deep  on  the  pass 
and  the  men  were  shoveling  it  where  it  had 
slid  down. 

So,  early  in  the  morning,  there  were  five  of 
us  going  on  horseback  over  the  pass,  and  it  had 
snowed  a  little  in  the  night.  The  next  morning 
we  all  started.  Two  of  the  men  were  Hebrews, 
commercial  travelers;  the  other  two  were  mer 
chants.  We  had  not  been  on  our  way  more 
than  one  hour  before  it  began  to  blow  and  snow 
so  thick  that  we  could  not  see  a  yard  before  us. 
They  all  halted  and  said  it  was  not  safe  to  go  on. 
They  wanted  me  to  turn  back  with  them,  for 
they  would  not  go  any  farther,  but  I  only 
laughed  at  them  and  waved  my  handkerchief 
adieu  to  them  and  went  on  alone.  I  had  gone 
some  distance  and  the  snow  was  getting  deep, 
when  the  horse  had  great  difficulty  in  going 
through,  and  as  I  got  to  a  point  near  the  summit 
some  of  the  men  were  bucking  snow,  trying  to 
keep  the  road  open,  so  that  they  could  get  pro 
visions,  as  the  men  who  were  making  the  road 
were  camped  on  the  top  of  the  Monroe  Pass. 
There  were  210  men  and  60  mules,  and  the  big 
draft  horses  with  scrape  plows  and  all  kinds  of 


176  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

tools  to  work  with,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the 
men  on  the  road  I  never  could  have  gotten  up  the 
mountains.  I  got  around  the  point,  and  as  it 
had  slacked  up  a  little  I  could  see  the  tents  and 
cabins.  They  looked  like  a  little  town,  and  as  I 
got  nearer  some  of  the  men  came  out  to  see  who 
was  coming  over  such  a  day,  and  when  they  saw 
a  woman  alone  they  ran  in  the  tents  and  got  all 
the  men  to  come  out  and  see  the  "mountain 
queen"  brave  the  storm;  and  such  a  cheer!  it 
echoed  through  the  mountains.  They  took  me 
out  of  my  saddle  and  put  the  horse  in  the  stable 
to  feed  him,  and  I  went  to  the  dining  room, 
such  as  they  had.  I  got  some  hot  coffee  and  a 
lunch.  I  told  them  I  would  go,  as  they  were 
making  preparations  for  me  to  stay  all  night. 
They  told  me  there  was  a  wash-out  on  the  trail, 
and  a  man  tried  to  get  over  it  and  both  he  and 
his  horse  were  killed.  They  both  lay  dead  at 
the  foot  of  the  mountains,  as  the  storm  was  too 
dangerous  and  severe  for  them  to  try  to  get 
them  up;  but  as  they  were  telling  me,  that 
mysterious  voice  kept  saying,  "Go  on,  go  on." 

So  I  said: 

"I  will  go  on  and  if  I  find  that  I  cannot  make 
it  I  will  come  back,  as  it  is  only  two  miles  from 
here,  and  the  horse  is  now  rested  and  I  want 
to  make  Aspen  before  dark,  and  it  is  getting 
late." 

I  got  up  and  told  the  men  to  get  the  horse. 
They  all  looked  at  one  another  in  a  woe-begone 
way,  for  they  thought  I  was  doomed  to  death.  I 
got  in  my  saddle,  then  about  six  or  eight  men 
said  they  would  go  as  far  as  the  washout  with 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  177 

me  and  see  the  end  of  me.  I  walked  my  horse, 
which  took  more  time,  and  when  the  horse  got 
to  the  place  he  stopped.  I  had  to  back  him 
away  from  it,  for  the  trail  was  narrow  and  so 
steep  and  the  break  was  about  three  feet,  but 
there  seemed  no  footing  on  the  other  side.  The 
voice  was  so  stern,  "Go  on,  go  on."  I  went 
back  some  distance,  then  braced  myself  for  the 
leap,  and  then  I  came  on  a  run  and  a  jump  and 
over  we  went,  but  the  horse  trembled  so  after 
we  were  on  the  other  side  that  I  had  to  pat  him 
and  talk  to  him. 

The  shouts  of  the  men  were  something  terri 
ble.  I  never  turned  my  head  to  look  at  them, 
but  the  first  time  I  got  up  to  the  place  I  saw 
the  man  and  the  horse  dead  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain.  I  did  not  look  again,  but  I  could 
hear  the  shouts  of  the  men  for  their  "mountain 
queen,"  and  as  they  went  down  the  pass  I 
could  hear  faintly  their  cheers.  It  was  getting 
dark  and  I  was  on  a  very  steep  place,  for  the 
dog  began  to  whine.  I  had  not  gone  far  before 
I  met  a  big  herd  of  jacks  who  blocked  the  trail, 
for  I  could  not  get  past  them.  I  dare  not 
attempt  to  take  the  horse  off  the  trail,  and  I 
tried  to  crowd  them  until  I  had  lost  all  hope  of 
getting  them  turned.  I  had  already  lost  over 
one  hour  and  it  was  getting  very  dark  and  cold, 
when  all  at  once  there  was  a  roar  of  bears  and 
the  jacks  got  scent  of  them,  and  they  all  turned 
around  as  if  by  magic  and  I  ran  as  fast  as  I  dare, 
for  the  trail  was  slippery  after  the  snow,  and 
it  was  quite  dark  and  late  when  I  got  to  the 
foot  of  the  mountain  and  came  to  where  there 

12 


178  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

were  sleigh  tracks.  To  the  right  there  was  a 
fence  and  to  the  left  the  tracks  went  to  some 
timber.  I  had  never  been  over  this  road  be 
fore,  so  did  not  know  which  was  the  way,  and 
it  was  too  dark  to  see  a  yard  before  me.  I 
thought  the  fence  was  a  ranch,  so  took  the  left 
road  and  kept  on  going  till  I  came  to  an  old  log 
cabin  with  no  doors  or  windows  and  the  chink 
ing  all  out,  but  the  horse  could  go  no  farther, 
and  the  whining  of  Fanny  was  pitiful,  so  I 
jumped  off  the  horse  and  went  in  and  took  the 
horse  in  too,  and  there  was  a  soap  box  that  had 
been  a  feed  box,  so  I  broke  it  on  the  end  of  the 
logs  and  built  a  fire  in  the  middle  of  the  cabin ; 
then  I  took  the  saddle  off  the  horse,  but  had  no 
supper  for  him.  By  the  blaze  of  the  fire  I  could 
see  that  something  was  wrong  with  Fanny,  and 
when  I  examined  her  I  found  that  her  legs  and 
feet  were  frozen  as  stiff  as  a  bar  of  iron.  I 
took  my  gun  out  to  shoot  her,  and  she  knew 
what  I  was  going  to  do,  for  she  began  to  whine 
and  the  tears  came  down  her  cheeks  as  though 
she  was  human.  Then  I  thought  of  what  the 
boys  had  said  to  put  snow  on  a  frozen  limb  and 
it  would  draw  out  the  frost.  I  put  my  gun 
back  and  took  my  knife  and  cut  some  of  my 
underclothes  into  strings  and  bandages,  then 
got  some  snow  and  bound  it  around  her  legs  and 
feet.  I  had  put  some  red  pepper  in  my  shoes 
before  starting,  so  as  to  keep  my  feet  warm, 
and  that  saved  my  feet  from  freezing.  The 
horse  lay  down;  he  seemed  to  know  there  was 
something  wrong,  and  there  was  no  supper  for 
him.  I  jumped  around  to  keep  awake,  for  1 


MRS.  CAPTAIN  JACK— QUEEN  OF  THE  ROCKIES. 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  179 

would  have  frozen  to  death  if  I  went  to  sleep. 
I  began  to  try  to  get  some  wood  to  keep  the  fire 
going.  I  looked  at  my  watch  and  it  was  near 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  such  shrieks, 
as  though  the  Indians  were  tearing  women  to 
pieces,  and  cry  after  cry  was  something  terri 
ble;  in  the  timbers  and  lost,  not  knowing  how 
far  I  was  away  from  any  human  being.  The 
dog  whined  in  fear  and  the  horse  pricked  up  his 
ears  to  listen  and  look  at  me.  I  spoke  to  him 
and  kept  the  fire  going,  but  such  a  night!  Then 
the  wind  began  to  blow  and  the  noise  of  the 
pines  and  the  whistling  of  the  wind  and  the 
terrible  crying  of  something,  I  know  not  what; 
no  pen  can  describe  the  feeling  of  loneliness  and 
desolation,  and  animal  and  man  seemed  to  come 
nearer  to  each  other,  for  both  horse  and  dog 
seemed  to  share  my  feelings,  for  they  both 
looked  as  though  they  had  pity  to  see  me 
afraid.  They  gained  courage  from  my  looks, 
though  not  a  word  was  said,  and  that  is  more 
convincing  of  the  power  of  vibration  from  me. 
It  was  evident  that  I  kept  the  gun  in  my  hand, 
for  I  knew  not  what  might  come,  but  I  made 
up  my  mind  I  would  keep  one  bullet  for  myself, 
for  I  would  not  be  tortured  to  death,  for  I 
would  put  the  last  bullet  through  my  own 
brains  before  I  would  be  abused.  It  seemed 
as  though  every  minute  was  an  hour,  for  I 
thought  daylight  would  never  come,  and  the 
later  it  got  the  colder  it  seemed  to  get. 

I  thought  of  the  voice  telling  me  to  go  on. 
It  had  deceived  me  for  the  first  time,  I  thought, 
for  if  I  had  stayed  with  the  boys  I  would  have 


180  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

had  daylight  the  rest  of  my  journey  and  not 
put  in  such  a  dreadful  night  as  I  was  having, 
and  no  one  can  imagine  the  thoughts  that  flew 
through  my  mind  in  the  dead  of  night  and  in 
the  hour  of  loneliness,  in  a  forest  with  snow 
deep  in  the  timbers  and  the  screeching  of  some 
thing,  I  know  not  what.  The  sighing  of  the 
winds  seemed  to  be  chanting  the  requiem  of 
some  lost  spirits,  for  nothing  either  on  this  earth 
or  below  the  earth  could  be  more  dismal;  as  I 
stood,  the  fire  died  out,  as  I  did  not  know  where 
to  get  more  wood  to  keep  it  going,  and  it  seemed 
as  though  it  was  getting  daylight,  and  as  soon 
as  it  got  a  little  lighter  I  put  the  saddle  on  the 
horse  and  put  the  bridle  over  my  arm  and  took 
Fan  in  the  other  arm  in  my  shawl  and  started 
to  follow  the  sleigh  tracks;  they  must  take  me 
somewhere  and  I  walked  for  over  two  hours. 

Then  I  saw  an  old  sawmill,  and  when  I  got 
nearer  I  began  to  yell  an  Indian  whoop,  and 
four  or  five  men  came  to  the  bunk  house  in  their 
night  drawers  and  called  out: 

"Is  that  Captain  Jack?  for  no  other  woman 
would  be  out  in  this  place  on  such  a  night  but 
she." 

I  called  out : 

"You  are  right.  It  is  I  and  I  am  nearly  frozen 
and  do  not  know  where  I  am  now.  I  started  on 
my  way  to  Aspen,  but  was  delayed  and  could 
not  see  through  the  way,  and  of  all  the  hellish 
screams  and  yells  I  heard  I  cannot  tell." 

The  men  said : 

"Yes,  that  is  the  proper  name  for  them. 
There  are  some  dead  cattle  about  two  miles 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  181 

from  here  and  the  bears  and  panthers  and  coy 
otes  and  mountain  lions  are  all  having  a  scrap 
over  them,  and  we  have  not  got  enough  ammu 
nition  to  go  after  them,  but  it  is  awful.  Their 
snarls  and  cries  in  the  dead  of  the  night  is 
enough  to  wake  the  dead." 

I  was  in  the  cook  house  and  a  fire  was  getting 
both  me  and  the  room  warm  and  the  horse  was 
getting  fed,  but  poor  Fannie 's  feet  were  as 
large  as  eggs.  They  were  terribly  swollen. 

As  soon  as  I  got  warmed  up  I  started  for 
Aspen.  The  road  by  the  fence  was  the  road  I 
should  have  taken.  I  started  out  for  another 
cold  ride,  but  I  had  been  going  up  hill  all  night 
and  I  would  go  down  hill  back,  and  as  I  went  I 
could  see  plainly  how  I  had  gotten  lost,  and 
when  I  got  to  town  I  rode  up  to  my  place  that 
a  German  had  rented  and  told  him  to  take  the 
horse  to  the  stable  and  I  would  go  to  another 
house  and  go  to  bed.  I  went  and  told  my 
friends  all  about  the  night  I  had,  and  when  I 
tried  to  get  my  boots  off  I  could  not  move 
them,  and  Mrs.  B.  had  to  come  and  cut  them 
off  and  help  me  to  undress,  for  I  seemed  to  get 
numbed  and  my  head  whirled  around,  and  it 
seemed  I  had  not  been  in  bed  but  a  short  time 
when  Mrs.  B.  came  and  said: 

"Captain,  are  you  awake  ?" 

I  said: 

"Oh!  don't  bother  me.     Let  me  sleep." 

She  said: 

"The  house  is  crowded  with  people  and  they 
are  frantic  with  grief.  What  time  did  you 
leave  the  summit  on  Moraine  Pass?" 


182  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

I  said: 

"About  four  o'clock." 

She  said : 

"And  were  all  the  men  well  and  happy  then?" 

I  said  : 

"They  all  seemed  to  be." 

She  said  : 

"You  must  come  downstairs  and  see  these 
people,  for  you  were  the  last  that  saw  them." 

"Well,  and  what  have  I  to  do  with  them?" 

She  said  : 

"Why,  do  you  know  what  happened  last 
night?" 

I  said : 

"Yes,  I  heard  the  most  horrible  groans  and 
shrieks  and  cries.  I  hope  I  never  will  hear  them 
again." 

"Oh!  Oh!  then  you  must  have  heard  them. 
Do  not  tell  the  poor  people  what  you  have 
heard,  for  it  would  set  them  crazy." 

I  said : 

"Well,  I  did  not  go  crazy,  and  I  do  not  see 
why  they  should." 

She  looked  at  me  so  queer  and  said: 

"Why,  you  did  not  lose  your  loved  ones  and 
they  did." 

I  said: 

"What  do  you  mean?" 

She  said: 

"Everyone  of  those  men  got  killed  last  night, 
and  all  the  horses  and  mules,  and  there  is  not 
one  to  tell  the  story.  You  were  the  last  human 
being  that  spoke  to  them  and  saw  them  alive, 
and  how  you  got  here  alive  is  a  mystery." 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  183 

Then  I  knew  why  the  voice  said,  "Go  on,  go 


on.' 


A  snow  slide  came  down  and  took  cabins, 
men  and  everything  in  its  way;  trees  that  had 
stood  over  one  hundred  years  were  swept  away 
as  though  they  had  been  straws,  and  as  I 
thought,  yes,  the  wind  and  the  sighs  of  the 
pines  were  surely  chanting  the  requiem  of  the 
dead. 

She  said: 

"You  must  see  these  poor  people.  I  cannot 
get  dinner  or  do  anything  for  the  crowds  that 
come  to  see  you.  Everything  is  excitement 
and  gloom  is  on  every  face.  The  snowslide  did 
not  leave  a  man  to  tell  the  tale." 

I  went  into  the  room.  It  was  crowded 
mostly  with  women  with  swollen  eyes  from 
weeping,  and  as  soon  as  they  saw  me  they  cried 
out: 

"What  did  my  Pat  say?  Did  he  send  me  a 
message?"  and  all  kinds  of  such  questions. 

Well,  I  knew  all  the  men  by  sight,  but  could 
not  tell  Pat  from  Bill,  and  there  were  over  three 
hundred,  with  the  teamsters,  and  sixty  head  of 
mules  and  large  horses,  and  a  snow-slide  had 
come  down  and  taken  cabin,  tents  and  trees 
that  had  stood  for  over  one  hundred  years,  and 
had  left  the  side  of  the  mountain  as  barren  as 
though  it  had  been  cleaned  with  a  scraper,  and 
such  distress!  They  seemed  to  cling  to  me  for 
a  message  from  their  loved  ones,  and  when  I 
told  them  all  were  well  and  happy  when  I  left 
them,  some  of  them  asked  me  why  I  did  not 
stay.  Then  I  thought  of  the  voice  and  how  un- 


184  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

grateful  I  had  been,  for  I  had  made  light  of  it 
in  the  night  and  said  that  it  had  misled  me. 
Now  I  could  understand  why  it  was  so  deter 
mined  for  me  to  leave  and  kept  on  saying:  "Go 
on,  go  on."  I  surely  would  have  stayed  and 
perished  with  the  rest  only  for  the  voice,  but  I 
said  nothing  to  the  people,  only  that  I  had  to 
get  to  Aspen  as  quickly  as  I  could.  So  I  started 
on.  One  poor  woman  said: 

"  There  must  have  been  some  good  spirit  that 
took  you  away  from  that  accursed  place,  and 
I  wish  the  Lord  had  been  as  kind  to  my  poor 
boys  as  he  was  to  you,  for  I  have  lost  all  the 
support  I  had,  my  husband  and  two  boys.  I 
am  afflicted  and  cannot  work.  Oh!  what  shall 
become  of  me  ?  Oh !  that  I  had  perished  with 
my  blessed  boys!" 

She  broke  down  and  wept  bitterly  and  every 
way  I  looked  I  saw  nothing  but  tears  and  deep- 
felt  misery.  I  could  hardly  stand  it  so  I 
had  to  leave  them  and  get  to  my  bed  again, 
thankful  to  the  Creator,  for  this  was  worse 
than  I  thought,  and  I  was  sick  in  body  and  soul. 
I  lay  tossing  for  a  time,  then  nature  gave  away 
and  I  slept  sound  till  the  next  morning,  and 
about  noon  the  news  came  that  a  rescuing 
party  of  twenty  had  gone  to  see  what  they  could 
do,  and  everyone  of  them  had  been  lost.  The 
mayor  of  the  town  gave  orders  for  no  one  to  go 
near  the  place. 

The  winter  was  a  very  severe  one  and  it  was 
a  sight  to  see  the  little  donkeys  with  300  pounds 
of  ore  on  their  backs;  three  sacks,  with  100 
pounds  in  each  sack,  one  on  each  side  and  one 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  185 

on  the  top  of  the  pack  saddles.  They  climbed 
on  such  a  narrow  path  and  the  mountains  cov 
ered  with  snow.  The  jacks  had  bells  on  their 
necks,  and  the  tinkling  of  the  bells  and  the 
barking  of  dogs  and  cursing  of  the  jack  punch 
ers  behind  a  trail  of  jacks  keeps  a  camp  pretty 
lively.  Then  the  yells  of  the  gamblers  and 
music  in  the  saloon  and  dance  halls  and  in  the 
mining  camps  where  there  are  every  class  of 
people,  and  all  on  the  alert  to  grab  what  they 
can. 

I  had  got  one  of  my  houses  back  and  had 
gone  "batching."  One  day  I  went  out  and  left 
my  door  open  and  when  I  came  back  there  was 
a  large  mountain  lion  lying  on  my  bed  as  con 
tented  as  if  it  were  at  home.  Now  I  did  not 
like  such  a  bedfellow,  so  I  went  to  the  corner 
and  asked  some  of  the  men  to  get  him.  They 
said  the  marshal  and  a  lot  of  men  were  looking 
for  him.  He  had  broken  his  chain  and  gotten 
away  from  a  man  who  lived  up  town,  but  none 
of  the  men  would  go  near  him  till  the  owner 
came.  He  went  up  to  him  and  took  him  up  off 
the  bed,  but  the  lion  did  not  want  to  go.  The 
man,  Bob,  said: 

"Cap,  did  you  ever  have  a  scrap  with  one  of 
these  fellows?" 

I  said: 

"No." 

He  said: 

"Come  here,  I  will  show  you  something,"  and 
he  got  the  lion's  tail,  and  at  the  very  end  of  it 
there  was  a  sharp  claw  bowed  like  a  fish-hook 
and  covered  with  hair,  all  but  a  very  little  of 


186  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

the  sharp  point.  When  in  a  fight  they  swing 
their  tails  and  tear  whatever  they  happen  to 
strike,  and  this  makes  them  one  of  the  most  dread 
ed  beasts  in  the  mountains. 

He  put  a  new  chain  on  him  and  took  him 
away,  but  three  days  after  he  was  shot  by  the 
order  of  the  law.  Some  two  weeks  after  this  I 
was  sitting  by  my  open  window  when  a  pack  of 
jacks  came  by,  going  to  corral  for  the  night, 
and  as  they  passed  the  stench  was  fearful,  and  I 
noticed  some  of  them  could  hardly  walk.  The 
jack  punchers  were  yelling  to  the  dogs  to  hurry 
them  up.  I  do  not  know  what  struck  me,  for 
I  sprang  out  of  my  door  and  after  the  jacks.  I 
stood  outside  of  the  board  fence  watching  them 
take  their  pack  saddles  off  of  the  poor  animals, 
and  such  a  stench  and  such  a  sight  I  cannot 
describe,  for  there  was  not  one  whose  back  was 
not  as  raw  as  beefsteak.  Two  of  the  punchers  got 
a  piece  of  flat  stick  and  scraped  the  maggots 
out  of  their  wounds,  and  if  the  jacks  moved  they 
kicked  them  and  beat  them  unmercifully.  There 
were  people  who  knew  about  this,  but  were 
afraid  of  the  punchers,  as  they  were  a  very  bad 
set  of  men. 

I  went  in  search  of  a  humane  officer  and  got 
two  who  were  just  made  officers,  and  the  next 
morning  I  swore  out  a  warrant  for  them  and  the 
officers  got  them,  as  they  had  all  the  saddles  on 
over  their  poor  wounded  backs  ready  for  another 
load  to  grind  in  a  little  deeper,  and  when  they 
were  arrested  they  swore  thc.t  they  would  have 
revenge  upon  the  one  who  dared  to  interfere  with 
their  business.  None  of  the  officers  had  been 


THE    FATE   OF   A    FAIRY  187 

idle,  for  they  had  gotten  a  lot  of  witnesses,  and 
I  was  late  when  I  went  in  the  court  room,  but 
when  I  was  called  I  said: 

"I  swore  out  the  warrant  and  what  I  had  seen 
was  enough  to  convict/' 

Then  the  judge  fined  them  $50  and  costs  and 
ordered  them  to  turn  the  jacks  out  to  pasture 
and  tend  to  them,  and  said  if  they  worked  any 
one  of  the  wounded  jacks  he  would  send  them 
to  jail.  The  next  day  a  man  came  to  me  and 
said: 

" Captain,  look  out  for  yourself,  as  the  punch 
ers  are  going  to  do  you  up,  and  there  are  a  lot  of 
them  on  the  corner.  I  jumped  up  and  took  my 
gun  and  went  up  to  where  there  was  a  gang  of 
punchers  and  tin-horn  gamblers  cursing,  and  I 
went  in  front  of  the  man  who  had  been  fined 
and  I  said: 

"You  wanted  to  see  me.  I  am  here.  Pull 
your  gun,  you  cur,"  and  at  the  same  time  I  shot 
his  hat  off  of  his  head.  Such  a  scattering! 
Some  men  ran  one  way  and  some  the  other, 
and  the  man  ran  to  the  hospital,  for  he  thought 
he  was  shot,  but  I  only  shot  his  hat  off  his  head. 
That  was  all  that  they  wanted  of  me,  for  I 
heard  no  more  threats  and  knew  that  they 
would  not  dare  to  try  to  harm  me,  for  they 
were  a  set  of  cowards  to  be  such  brutes  to  the 
poor  animals  that  were  making  a  living  for 
them. 

The  spring  had  come  on  and  I  got  word  to  go 
to  Gunnison,  as  some  one  wanted  to  buy  the 
"Queen/'  and  as  there  was  no  railway  I  had  to 
get  a  wagon  and  a  man  to  drive,  as  we  had  to  be 


188  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

on  the  road  three  nights  and  I  had  to  wait  till  I 
could  get  a  team  and  a  man  that  I  could  trust. 
I  found  one  after  waiting  ten  days,  so  we  started 
at  dayreak  to  go  by  the  way  of  Ashcraft  and 
Tailor  Park,  and  such  scenery  was  beyond 
description.  I  could  get  one  hand  full  of  the 
most  beautiful  flowers  and  the  other  full  of  snow. 
Every  color  of  flowers,  the  May  finks  blooming 
under  the  snow  and  the  clear  streams  of  water; 
and  the  Taiolr  river  with  its  speckled  trout. 
The  man  could  take  a  dishpan  full  in  one  hour, 
and  the  game  was  plenty.  Deer  and  antelope 
in  droves.  It  was  a  beautiful  sight  and  on 
Saturday  morning  we  got  in  Gunnison  and  on 
Monday  I  began  to  dicker  for  the  sale  of  the 
"Queen,"  and  that  week  closed  a  deal  for  $25,000, 
$5,000  down  and  the  balance  in  one  year.  I 
paid  up  all  that  I  owed  and  went  out  prospecting 
again,  but  found  nothing  but  hardships  and  loss 
of  money,  and  while  I  was  waiting  for  the  bal 
ance  of  the  money  the  lawyers  were  busy  how 
to  get  hold  of  it.  They  trumped  up  all  kinds 
of  things  and  charged  me  the  most  outrageous 
prices.  The  attorney  who  got  my  divorce 
charged  $500  and  another  trumped  up  a  case  was 
$1,500.  Amongst  them  they  had  $5,000  at 
torney  fees.  Such  robbery  I  never  thought 
would  be  tolerated,  for  there  was  not  $100  due 
them;  $50  was  the  price  of  a  divorce,  and  $50 
more  would  have  paid  them  well  for  all  that  had 
been  done,  with  what  I  had  already  paid,  so 
they  tied  up  $5,000  of  my  money  and  I  had  to 
pay  it  before  I  could  give  a  clear  title  to  the 
company.  I  was  so  disgusted  that  I  left  the 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  189 

place  and  went  to  Ouray,  a  prosperous  mining 
town  built  on  the  side  of  the  mountain,  a  very 
picturesque  place,  with  hot  water  running 
through  its  streets  in  the  winter.  I  found  a 
good  showing  of  silver  up  Bear  Creek  Falls,  so 
went  to  work  and  built  cabins  and  blacksmith 
shops  and  went  shipping.  It  paid  expenses 
whilst  silver  was  up.  I  tried  to  sell  and  got  a 
company  that  was  to  pay  me  $60,000  for  the 
mine  in  ten  days,  as  their  president  was  coming 
from  New  York  with  the  money  and  they  were 
going  to  stock  it  for  $3,000,000,  and  float  the 
stock,  and  in  five  days  after  the  contract  had  been 
made  and  the  deed  in  the  bank,  silver  went  down 
and  kept  going  down,  and  w^hen  the  partner 
came  with  the  money  they  decided  to  wait  till 
silver  went  up,  and  are  still  waiting,  for  silver 
was  denominated,  and  that  settled  it,  so  I  lost 
a  lot  of  money  in  that,  and  I  was  not  the  only 
one,  for  numbers  of  mines  were  closed  down 
and  men  thrown  out  of  work,  and  at  this  time 
a  gold  camp  had  started  at  Cripple  Creek,  and 
everyone  that  could  get  away,  got;  everyone 
wanted  to  sell  and  no  one  to  buy.  Houses  were 
nailed  up  and  the  town  seemed  deserted.  It 
was  a  sorry  sight  from  the  busy  place  it  had 
been. 

Some  of  my  neighbors  who  went  to  Cripple 
Creek  wanted  me  to  go  with  them.  I  still  had  a 
lot  of  property  in  Gunnison,  so  I  went  back  to 
look  after  it,  as  Gunnison  was  picking  up  a  little. 
The  ranches  were  all  doing  well  and  they  were 
sending  their  children  to  school  in  the  town, 
so  I  fixed  up  my  houses  and  rented  them,  but 


190  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

there  was  nothing  for  me  to  do  but  watch  my 
property,  and  that  was  too  tame  for  me,  so  I 
decided  to  go  West.  My  foreman  and  a  ranch 
man  that  I  had  a  note  against  and  a  neighbor 
widow  woman  with  three  boys  got  two  big 
covered  wagons  and  six  fine  horses  and  a  big 
camping  outfit,  and  Luey  rented  his  ranch  and 
we  started  for  the  wild  West. 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  191 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TX7E  went  through  Utah,  away  around  St. 
George,  and  on  Christmas  eve.  we  got  in 
a  Mormon  town  and  camped  at  a  farmhouse. 
The  owner  was  an  Indian  with  two  wives,  as 
pretty  white  women  as  could  be  found  in  New 
York.  He  had  a  large  house  and  an  organ,  but 
no  one  could  play  on  it.  He  invited  us  in.  He 
gave  us  cake  and  wine  and  I  got  some  of  my 
music  and  played  and  sang  for  them,  and  they 
were  delighted  and  wanted  us  to  stay  and  go  to 
church  the  next  morning  and  sing  at  church, 
but  we  had  too  much  expense.  Feeding  the 
horses  cost  a  lot  of  money,  camping  every  night 
in  corrals,  for  we  had  to  do  that  to  get  water  and 
feed  for  the  horses.  The  next  morning  when 
the  men  were  going  to  get  ready  to  start  the 
Indian  offered  them  $500  in  gold  to  leave  me, 
for  he  said  he  wanted  me  for  his  third  wife  and 
he  must  have  me. 

The  men  were  afraid  we  would  be  stopped,  as 
we  were  in  the  midst  of  Mormons,  no  one  for 
miles  but  Mormons.  They  told  him  that  he 
could  not  get  me,  for  I  was  the  property  of  the 
U.  S.  government,  and  that  the  government 
would  send  soldiers  to  get  me.  I  knew  nothing 
of  this  and  all  that  was  going  on  with  the  men. 

I  went  to  the  house  to  get  some  butter,  when 
the  tall,  handsome  woman  said  to  me: 

"So  you  are  coming  over  to  us.  He  is  going  to 
marry  you." 


192  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

I  said: 

"You  must  be  crazy,  for  I  would  not  marry 
any  man,  let  alone  a  man  with  two  wives. 
Have  no  fear  of  me." 

Then  they  both  came  to  me  and  kissed  me 
and  said: 

"Are  you  going  away  today?" 

I  said: 

"As  soon  as  the  horses  are  hitched  to  the 
wagons." 

So  they  gave  me  a  crock  of  butter  and  a  lot  of 
nuts  and  cookies  and  I  went  to  put  them  in  the 
wagon.  The  Indian  came  to  me  and  said: 

"Stay  with  me.  I  will  give  you  half  of  what 
I  have,  for  I  love  you.  I  thought  I  loved  my 
wives,  but  never  felt  for  them  as  I  do  for  you. 
I  would  be  your  slave  willingly  and  you  would 
be  my  queen.  Have  pity  on  me,  Oh !  fair  woman, 
and  stay  and  sing  with  that  sweet  voice  of  yours, 
for  if  you  go  I  will  pine  away  and  my  last  thought 
will  be  of  you.  Oh!  my  love,  my  love." 

He  burst  out  weeping  and  sat  on  the  tongue 
of  a  wagon.  My  men  were  hurrying  as  fast  as 
they  could  and  were  almost  ready  to  go  away. 

It  was  a  beautiful,  balmy  Christmas  morning 
and  everything  seemed  in  harmony  but  the  poor 
man  in  tears.  All  were  ready  and  I  went  up  to 
him  and  laid  my  hand  on  his  shoulder  and  said: 

"Good-by;  you  will  soon  forget  me.  Be  good 
to  your  wives,  by-by." 

Then  I  turned  and  got  in  the  wagon  and  crack 
went  the  whip  and  off  went  the  horses,  and 
everyone  of  us  were  glad  to  turn  our  backs  on 
that  romantic  and  sleepy-looking  little  town. 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  193 

We  went  two  days  on  a  sandy  sea,  and  as  we 
had  narrow  tires  on  and  no  barrels  for  water,  it 
was  awful.  The  third  day  we  came  to  the 
Verden  river.  The  horses  drank  so  much  that 
we  lost  two  of  the  best  ones,  as  the  water  was 
alkali  and  contained  quicksand.  We  had  to 
get  over  the  river  as  quickly  as  we  could  or 
everything  would  go  under  the  bottom  of  the 
river.  Some  left  one  wagon,  then  went  and  got 
it,  and  we  made  only  five  miles  in  some  days. 
All  the  wagons  out  in  that  country  are  wide  and 
have  good  wide  tires  and  two  big  barrels  of 
water,  one  on  each  side.  We  were  not  prepared 
for  such  a  country  and  such  a  trip.  The  horses 
suffered  for  water.  We  bought  water  at  ten 
cents  a  bucket  from  section  houses  on  the  rail 
roads  which  run  through  the  deserts.  When  we 
got  near  one  they  had  tanks  of  water  that  the 
train  brought  and  filled.  It  was  warm  and  nasty 
but  we  were  glad  to  get  it  when  we  could.  We 
went  on  till  we  came  to  another  Mormon  settle 
ment  and  stopped  to  get  meat  and  supplies. 
There  was  a  very  pretty  dark-eyed  woman  with 
three  little  children.  She  was  chopping  wood 
for  the  fire  for  dinner.  I  asked  her  if  she  had 
some  beef  for  sale.  She  said  that  her  husband 
would  be  in  soon  and  he  sold  the  meat.  She 
asked  me  in  to  wait  for  dinner.  When  I  went 
in  there  was  another  very  pretty  girl,  seventeen 
years  old,  nursing  a  young  baby.  When  the 
dark  woman  went  out  I  asked  her: 

"How  old  is  your  baby?" 

She  said: 

"It  is  not  my  baby.     It  is  the  other  wife's 

13 


194  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

baby.  I  have  only  been  married  one  week  and 
the  baby  is  five  weeks  old." 

I  said: 

"Did  you  marry  that  woman's  husband?" 

She  said: 

"Yes,  he  is  my  husband,  too.  The  other  did 
not  like  it,  but  she  could  not  help  herself." 

There  was  a  large  fire  place  in  the  room  and 
a  bright  fire  burning.  I  looked  at  the  fire  and 
thought  of  these  poor  slaves. 

The  woman  with  four  children,  one  only  five 
weeks  old,  and  she  could  not  have  been  over 
thirty  years  old,  and  had  to  chop  wood,  and 
then  the  washing  and  cooking  to  do  for  so  many, 
for  the  yard  was  full  of  clothes  that  she  had 
washed,  and  when  the  man  came  he  had  two 
other  men  with  him,  his  hired  men.  I  bought 
a  yearling  beef  of  him  and  some  other  things. 
He  was  a  fair-haired  Swede,  about  thirty-five 
years  old. 

He  asked  me  to  dinner  and  I  went  in  and 
there  he  sat  at  the  end  of  the  table,  a  dark  wife 
on  his  right-hand  side  and  the  fair  girl  at  his 
left.  A  large  piece  of  roast  beef  in  front  of 
him,  fit  for  a  king,  with  every  kind  of  vege 
table,  and  he  had  all  the  airs  of  a  millionaire. 
I  could  not  help  thinking  of  the  poor  woman 
who  had  to  cut  the  wood  to  cook  all  that  nice 
dinner,  besides  doing  the  big  washings,  and  a 
baby  only  five  weeks  old.  Then  for  him  to 
bring  another  wife  to  sit  all  dressed  up  with 
blue  beads  around  her  neck  and  bracelets  on, 
doing  nothing  but  holding  the  baby,  so  this  is 
God's  will  and  religion  and  Bible  teaching! 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  195 

After  dinner  I  went  to  my  wagon  and  told 
the  men  we  would  go  on  till  we  could  find  a 
place  to  camp,  and  at  five  o'clock  we  came  to 
a  good  place  to  camp,  and  when  the  second 
wagon  came  up  all  were  in  a  commotion.  The 
three  boys  were  swollen  up  like  three  poisoned 
pups  and  roaring  with  misery.  Talk  of  Peck's 
Bad  Boy,  he  was  not  in  it.  I  knew  they  had 
been  in  some  mischief,  and  when  I  came  to  find 
out  what  it  was,  they  had  stolen  the  dried 
grapes  that  I  had  bought  and  filled  themselves 
up  with  them,  so  they  were  paying  for  their 
tricks,  and  I  let  them  yell.  The  mother  asked 
me  to  help  them. 

I  said: 

" If  I  do  it  will  be  with  a  horsewhip." 

I  was  sick  of  them.  In  two  days  after  this 
we  came  to  Nevada,  a  town  called  Bunkesville, 
but  they  were  all  Mormons  and  Indians,  painted 
up,  and  nearly  baked. 

We  were  sitting  by  a  camp-fire  one  evening 
at  dusk  and  several  of  the  men  had  come  to  our 
camp  to  see  us,  when  a  tall,  lanky  old  man 
came,  and  when  he  sat  on  a  log  by  the  fire  one  of 
the  young  men  said: 

"Well,  Uncle  Jonathan,  you  have  gotten  back. 
How  many  did  you  find  on  this  trip?" 

He  was  whittling  a  stick  and  had  a  plug  of 
tobacco  in  his  mouth,  and  a  more  repulsive 
looking  thing  in  the  shape  of  a  man  could  not 
be  found,  and  he  drawled  out: 

"Well,  I  found  sixty-two  on  this  round  up." 

"And  which  did  you  like  the  best?" 

"Well,  I  liked  Martha  the  best.     She  had  a 


196  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

nice  starched  shirt  all  ready  for  me  and  nicer 
things  to  eat  than  any  of  the  other  wives." 

Well,  that  did  stagger  me,  for  I  thought  that 
they  had  been  rounding  up  cattle,  but  he  had 
been  going  the  rounds  of  his  wives  and  had 
gotten  sixty-two  children,  and,  just  like  a  beast, 
the  one  who  fed  him  the  best  was  his  favorite. 
The  squaws  came  around  our  wagon  and  stole 
everything  they  could  get  hold  of.  At  night 
Luey,  the  ranchman,  slept  in  one  of  the  wag 
ons,  and  in  the  night  he  heard  someone  in  the 
wagon  trying  to  steal  some  of  our  provisions. 
He  got  out  in  a  hurry  and  grabbed  his  rifle, 
when  something  fell  on  his  head  and  he  thought 
it  was  a  squaw's  ear  he  got  hold  of,  for  he  cried 
out: 

"I  have  got  her." 

We  were  all  up  by  this  time.  I  went  to  Luey 
and  said: 

"What  is  the  matter?" 

He  was  holding  a  bedquilt  and  thought  he 
was  holding  a  squaw  by  the  hair  of  the  head, 
and  when  we  began  to  look  for  the  trouble  we 
found  two  starving  cats  had  gotten  the  meat 
and  were  chewing  it  as  fast  as  they  could,  and 
they  had  made  the  noise  and  the  quilt  had  fell 
on  Luey's  head,  and  in  his  excitement  he 
thought  he  had  hold  of  a  squaw.  He  killed 
both  the  cats  in  a  hurry  before  he  knew  what 
he  was  doing.  Then  I  burst  out  laughing,  for 
a  more  ridiculous  sight  could  not  be  seen.  A 
rifle  in  one  hand  and  a  corner  of  a  bedquilt  in 
the  other,  and  his  hair  standing  up  with  fright. 
He  was  yelling: 


CAPTAIN  JACK  AFTER  A  DAY'S  WORK. 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  19? 

"I  have  got  her.     I  have  got  her.'1 

We  started  the  next  day  towards  the  Mo- 
hava  Desert  and  filled  everything  with  water 
that  we  could.  We  had  a  hard  time,  and  when 
we  had  been  on  the  desert  two  days  and  nights 
the  water  gave  out  and  the  horses  suffered 
dreadfully,  and  the  third  day  a  wagon  came 
along  with  two  large  barrels  of  water  but  they 
would  not  sell  us  any.  I  saw  that  we  would 
lose  our  horses  if  they  did  not  get  water,  so  I 
took  a  five-dollar  gold  piece  and  said: 

"Give  the  horses  a  drink  and  fill  these  jars 
and  I  will  give  you  this.  You  will  not  want  all 
that  water,  for  you  have  broad  tires  and  can  get 
over  in  less  time  than  it  takes  us." 

This  was  more  than  they  could  let  go,  so  they 
gave  us  half  a  barrel  of  water  for  the  $5,  and  I 
was  glad  to  pay  it.  The  boys  nearly  killed  them 
selves  drinking,  and  at  night  of  the  third  day 
we  got  to  a  farmyard  near  our  camping  grounds 
for  the  night. 

We  were  in  God's  country  again,  with  feed  and 
water.  We  stayed  that  night  and  then  got  started 
the  ensuing  day  and  kept  going  for  two  days. 
Then  we  came  to  the  Colorado  river,  which 
divides  Nevada  and  Arizona.  We  could  not 
cross  this  river  except  by  ferry-boats.  One  of 
our  wagon  wheels  had  given  out  and  we  could 
not  get  any  farther  till  new  tires  were  sent. 
That  was  not  all;  the  money  was  nearly  all  gone. 
We  found  out  that  over  the  Wallapys  Desert 
there  was  a  very  good  mining  camp  called  the 
White  Mills,  and  the  deserts  were  fifty  miles 
across,  so  I  said  to  the  women  with  boys: 


198  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

"You  had  better  go  with  the 'men  and  one 
wagon  to  the  White  Hills  and  then  you  will  have 
to  take  care  of  yourself,  for  you  have  done 
nothing  but  eat  and  make  work  for  me.  I  had 
to  make  all  the  bread.  I  had  to  go  on  my  knees 
at  night  and  make  a  wash  boiler  of  bread  and 
bake  it  before  we  started  and  you  were  not  the 
women  to  offer  to  do  anything,  even  wash  the 
dishes,  till  you  were  called  to  help  with  them. 
Now,  you  go  your  way.  I  want  no  more  of  you.  * J 

So  the  next  day  one  wagon  with  the  men  and 
the  woman  and  three  boys  were  towed  over  the 
Colorado  river  and  went  to  the  White  Hills.  I, 
with  one  wagon,  was  left  alone.  We  had 
pitched  our  tent  in  a  lane  near  the  farmhouse. 
The  people  were  Mormons,  the  women  English 
and  the  men  Swedes.  They  only  had  one  wife, 
as  they  owned  the  ferry  -  boats  and  were  well- 
to-do. 

I  waited  three  days,  thinking  that  I  would 
hear  from  the  hills,  but  not  a  word  came  for  me 
from  the  rest  of  the  people,  and  on  the  fourth 
day  the  women  came  to  me  and  said: 

"We  are  going  to  an  Indian  funeral.  You  had 
better  come  with  us.  The  wagon  will  be  ready 
in  half  an  hour.  " 

I  said: 

"All  right." 

I  was  glad  to  get  away  somewhere,  for  I  was 
getting  worried  about  the  other  wagon  and  the 
people,  so  when  they  drove  up  to  my  camp  I 
was  ready  and  we  started.  We  got  there  about 
11:30  A.  M.,  and  there  were  swarms  of  Indians 
from  far  and  near,  and  we  got  out  of  the  wagons 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  199 

and  walked  to  where  the  big  crowd  was,  and 
there  was  a  big,  hot  fire  like  a  furnace  and  a  pile 
of  the  hard  redwood  that  grows  there.  We  had 
not  been  there  long  when  the  most  dismal  howl 
and  noise  came — such  a  noise  and  such  a  crowd ! 
It  was  deafening  and  awful,  and  to  my  horror 
they  brought  the  man  in  the  red  blankets  and 
put  him  on  top  of  the  hot  fire  and  threw  the  logs 
on  the  top  of  him;  then  the  others  began  to  form 
a  circle  all  around  him  on  the  top  of  the  fire  and 
howl  and  keep  going  around  in  a  circle,  and  first 
one  squaw  and  then  another  would  jump  to  the 
fire  and  throw  on  some  piece  of  her  dress  or  apron 
that  she  had  on.  Then  she  brought  the  pony, 
but  they  had  taken  his  hams  and  loins  off  him 
to  have  a  feast  of  it  at  sundown,  but  the  hide 
was  there  and  they  put  it  on  the  fire  to  burn 
with  the  man.  I  noticed  one  squaw  was  tearing 
all  her  clothes  off  and  burning  them,  and  I  found 
out  she  was  the  wife  of  the  buck,  and  she  kept  on 
burning  until  she  found  she  had  not  a  rag  left 
on  her,  and  the  dismal  noise  and  the  smell  and 
their  throwing  up  of  legs  and  arms  in  their  dance 
around  the  fire  was  beyond  description.  No 
madhouse  could  compare  with  it,  and  at  about 
twelve  o'clpck  at  night  and  at  twelve  at  noon 
they  all  got  under  a  bush  and  cried  all  through 
the  moon.  I  They  called  it  crying,  but  it  was 
howling,  and  it  does  not  matter  what  they  are 
doing,  they  stop  and  run  under  different  bushes; 
a  group  under  one  bush  and  another  under  an 
other  bush,  and  one  howls  against  the  other, 
and  beat  their  tom-toms,  till  it  is  deafening. 
I  waited  ten  days  and  no  word  came  from  the 


200  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

rest  of  the  party.  Then  I  got  a  horse  and  as  I 
had  my  side  saddle  with  me  I  started  for  the 
White  Hills  over  the  desert.  The  people  who 
owned  the  ferry  were  very  much  frightened  at 
my  going  alone,  but  I  laughed  at  them.  They 
had  good  security  for  the  horse,  for  I  had  left  the 
wagon  loaded  with  valuables.  They  towed  me 
over  the  Colorado  river  and  then  landed  me  and 
left  me  to  my  fate. 

I  followed  the  road,  but  there  was  nothing 
but  all  kinds  of  cactuses  and  sand.  I  kept  on 
until  it  was  late,  not  a  soul  or  sign  of  anything 
living  could  I  see,  and  the  horse  was  so  tired 
he  could  hardly  move.  I  got  off  and  led  him. 
It  was  getting  very  dark,  but  I  kept  on  till  it 
was  late  at  night,  when  I  saw  a  light  a  long  way 
to  the  left  of  the  road.  I  went  till  I  could  see 
there  were  lights  on  the  hills.  Then  I  knew  the 
lights  were  from  the  mines,  so  kept  on  till  I  saw 
a  town  of  tents  and  one  with  a  lamp  outside.  I 
went  up  to  it  and  when  I  got  there  found  that 
it  was  a  saloon.  I  went  in  and  asked  the  man 
where  I  could  put  my  horse.  A  man  who  was 
in  camp  came  and  took  him.  I  told  him  to  see 
that  he  was  fed  and  had  water.  Then  I  went 
with  the  man  to  a  place  they  called  a  hotel.  I 
told  them  who  I  was  and  who  I  was  looking  for, 
and  the  next  day  I  found  the  men.  Frank  had 
gone  to  work  in  the  mines  and  Luey  was  working 
the  horses,  hauling  asphalt  for  the  corrals. 

We  got  another  tent  and  the  cook  stove  was 
in  the  first  wagon,  so  we  went  housekeeping, 
and  the  second  night  I  was  in  camp  there  was 
a  serenade,  and  they  played  the  banjo  and  violin 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  201 

and  sang  beautifully.     I  did  not  know  it  was  for 

me  until  the  men  said: 

"Captain,  get  up;  for  they  are  serenading  you." 
I  got  up  and  dressed  in  a  hurry.    Then  a  crowd 

of  men  shouted: 

"Welcome,  Captain  Jack,  Queen  of  the  Rock 


ies." 


Then  the  darkies  began  to  play  and  sing: 
"You  are  welcome  to  our  shores." 
The  next  morning  I  found  out  there  were  quite 
a  number  of  Colorado  boys  and  miners  and 
prospectors  working  in  the  mines,  and  they 
knew  I  had  come  in  camp.  Some  colored  min 
strels  from  California  came  to  play  in  the  gam 
bling  house,  and  they  got  them  to  come  and 
serenade  me.  I  thought  I  was  where  no  one 
knew  me  and  was  surprised  the  next  day.  Some 
of  the  boys  came  and  asked  me  if  I  had  a  hymn 
book  or  a  prayer  book,  as  two  of  the  men  were 
going  to  be  buried,  and  if  I  would  go  and  sing  a 
hymn  over  them,  so  they  that  could  be  buried 
like  men.  They  had  built  a  hospital,  two  rooms 
for  the  sick,  and  they  had  a  doctor.  The  men 
were  dying  every  day,  as  the  doctor  said  it  was 
pneumonia. 

I  went  to  the  funeral  and  sang  two  hymns,  and 
all  the  men  joined  in,  and  as  we  were  going  home 
one  of  the  head  men  of  the  company  came  to 
me  and  said: 

"I  wish  you  would  go  and  see  the  sick  men  in 
the  hospital  and  tell  me  what  you  think  of  them, 
for  two  of  my  foremen  are  there." 

I  went  and  looked  at  the  men,  four  in  all,  and 
I  knew  they  had  not  got  pneumonia. 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

It  was  arsenic  poison.  The  pupils  of  their 
eyes  were  closed  and  the  color  of  their  faces  were 
yellow.  They  were  all  doomed  for  death.  I 
told  Mr.  T.  and  he  said: 

"We  will  lose  half  of  our  men." 

I  said: 

"Send  and  get  a  lot  of  sponges  and  elastic 
and  dip  the  sponges  in  water  and  keep  it  over 
their  mouths  and  nostrils.  That  will  stop  death, 
and  the  only  thing  that  will  kill  the  poison  is 
greasy  bacon  and  boiled  milk,  and  as  we  are  on  a 
desert  there  is  no  milk." 

The  four  men  died  that  night  and  Mr.  T.got 
the  sponges  and  it  stopped  the  poisoning.  Two 
weeks  after  this  I  went  with  Luey  and  two  of 
the  horses  on  the  desert  to  look  at  a  place,  where 
we  picked  up  some  fine  looking  rock.  We  started 
early,  but  it  was  farther  than  we  thought.  It 
was  dark  and  we  were  a  long  way  from  home. 

We  came  to  a  place  where  some  one  had  been 
camping  and  had  cut  some  wood,  so  we  stopped 
to  rest  our  horses  and  build  a  fire.  We  only 
had  lunch  with  us,  so  had  nothing  for  supper, 
but  I  took  the  newspaper  that  our  lunch  had 
been  in  and  spread  it  on  the  ground  to  sleep  on, 
saying  to  Luey: 

"I  have  often  joshed  the  boys  that  I  could 
sleep  under  a  bush  if  I  had  only  a  newspaper  to 
sleep  on,  so  here  goes  it.  You  watch  the  horses 
and  the  fire,  for  I  am  worn  out." 

I  had  not  been  to  sleep  when  something  was 
rattling  the  paper.  It  was  getting  up  under  my 
arm;  it  woke  me  up  and  I  raised  my  head  to  see 
if  it  was  Luey  playing  a  trick  on  me,  but  there 


MRS.  CAPTAIN  JACK  LOST  IN  THE  MOUNTAINS. 


THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY  203 

ne  sat  at  the  other  side  of  the  fire  as  he  was 
when  I  lay  down.  Then  something  was  right 
under  the  pit  of  my  arm.  I  turned  to  see  and 
to  my  horror  there  was  a  large  rattlesnake. 

I  let  a  scream  and  rolled  down  the  hill  and  the 
snake  went  up  amongst  the  bushes.  Luey 
yelled  out: 

"The  darn  thing  is  ten  feet  long." 

The  thing  had  gotten  his  head  under  my  arm 
to  get  warm,  and  why  it  did  not  bite  me  was  a 
wonder. 

I  said: 

"Get  the  horses  and  we  will  work,  for  I  want 
no  more  bedfellows  like  that."  It  was  nearly 
morning  when  we  got  home,  and  I  did  not  stop 
to  undress,  only  loosen  my  clothes  and  it  was 
late  when  I  woke  the  next  morning.  The 
Indian  chief  was  at  the  tent.  He  was  a  great, 
big  man,  over  two  hundred  pounds,  and  he  had  a 
little  girl's  hat  stuck  on  the  top  of  his  head.  The 
hat  was  broad  at  the  bottom  and  narrow  at  the 
top  and  had  a  dirty  red  ribbon  around  it.  He 
looked  like  what  we  used  to  call  a  tomfool  or  a 
clown,  when  I  first  went  in  camp. 

I  made  friends  with  him  and  gave  him  some 
paint  and  tobacco.  It  was  a  strange  sight  to 
see  the  tribe  every  Sunday  sit  in  a  circle  on  the 
ground,  with  stacks  of  silver  dollars  and  three 
or  four  decks  of  cards  and  gamble,  and  the  squaw 
would  be  standing  up  by  their  braves  watching 
them  like  hawks,  and  if  one  of  them  lost  all — 
his  squaw  would  give  him  the  last  cent  she  had. 

I  had  three  jewsharps  with  me  for  which  I 
had  paid  25  cents  apiece,  The  Indians  offered 


204  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

me  $5  for  one,  so  I  sold  it  to  them.  They  came 
for  the  other  two  at  the  same  price.  They  would 
lend  it  for  a  few  minutes  and  then  the  other 
squaws  would  try  to  play  it,  but  they  had  no 
tune  but  the  dreadful  howling. 

A  few  days  after  this  one  of  our  boys  bought 
two  monsters  in  a  cage  with  iron  bars  on.  He 
bought  them  for  male  and  female.  They  would 
close  their  eyes,  swell  their  necks,  then  throw 
their  poison  out  like  a  pale  green  stream,  and 
it  was  sure  death  to  get  it  on  man  or  beast.  The 
third  day  they  got  in  a  fight  and  they  set  up  on 
their  hind  legs  and  fought  till  one  got  the  other 
by  the  throat  and  killed  it.  They  were  both 
males.  There  is  nothing  on  earth  that  is  worse 
than  they  are.  The  man  paid  $9  for  a  case  of 
eggs  to  feed  them.  I  took  my  gun  and  shot 
the  other,  for  I  would  not  have  the  monster 
near  the  tent. 

I  found  out  that  the  rich  mine,  the  ''Grand 
Army,'*  was  bought  from  one  of  the  Indians 
for  a  plug  of  tobacco  and  a  half  pint  of  whisky. 
The  mine  paid  millions.  "Them/'  the  chief, 
came  to  see  me  every  day.  He  told  me  that 
there  was  an  old  Mormon  fort  at  the  mouth  of 
Death  Valley  and  under  the  floor  there  was  a 
heap  of  gold  hidden.  He  said  that  he  would 
take  me  to  it,  but  the  boys  said  it  was  not  safe 
for  me  to  go  if  he  would  not  let  them  go  too. 
We  all  would  go.  We  paid  $1.50  per  barrel 
for  water.  It  had  to  be  hauled  nine  miles  from 
what  they  called  a  water  hole.  It  was  warm 
and  nasty.  How  I  longed  for  one  good  drink 
of  that  Colorado  clear  water,  and  as  I  sat  all 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  205 

alone  on  that  clear  moonlight  night,  thinking 
of  the  cause  of  this  dry  desert,  I  could  but  think 
there  is  another  triangle,  and  its  law  is  repul 
sion,  retention,  suppression  and  attraction,  for 
what  holds  large  quantities  of  water  and  snow 
which  falls  to  earth.  There  is  nothing  neutral, 
and  it  attracts  from  earth  and  is  retained  in  the 
clouds  until  the  right  attraction  draws  it  down 
That  same  law  is  attached  to  everyone  of  us; 
some  repulse  and  others  attract;  some  keep 
friends  and  others'  friends  are  of  short  duration, 
and  it  is  plain  to  understand  that  these  forces 
all  work  by  triangle  power. 

A  few  weeks  after  this  there  was  a  stir  in 
camp.  Groups  of  Indians  were  getting  to 
gether  with  looks  of  anger  on  their  faces,  and 
crowds  of  white  men  were  talking  together, 
when  to  my  surprise  they  came  toward  my 
tents.  I  went  to  the  door  to  meet  them,  when 
the  proprietor  of  the  big  gambling  house  came 
and  said: 

"Captain,  we  want  you  to  help  us  out  of  a 
messy  scrap.  The  man  who  owned  the  largest 
corral  in  town  got  full  last  night  and  dragged 
a  squaw  in  his  office  and  abused  her.  The 
Indians  will  do  mischief  if  something  is  not 
done.  We  are  going  to  arrest  Jake  and  then 
turn  my  gambling  room  into  a  courtroom  and 
try  him,  and  we  want  you  to  be  the  judge,  for 
Tom,  the  chief,  will  stand  by  you  where  he  does 
not  trust  one  of  us." 

I  said: 

4 'Well,  you  are  getting  me  in  a  strange  busi 
ness;  first,  you  make  a  minister  of  me  to  read 


206  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

the  funeral  services  and  sing,  and  now  you  want 
me  to  be  a  judge,  which  I  do  not  want  to  be.  Let 
the  men  take  care  of  the  case." 

"That  is  what  we  are  going  to  do,  but  the 
chief  is  so  angry  that  we  fear  bloodshed,  and 
if  we  can  avoid  it  by  being  cautious  it  is  the 
best  thing  to  save  life  and  property,  for  the 
chief  is  one  of  the  worst  brutes  and  fighters  of 
all  the  tribes.  He  saw  you  shoot  the  monster 
the  other  day  and  said: 

"  'The  Paleface  heap  brave  and  shoot  good/ 
and  he  slapped  his  breast  in  admiration  of  you. 

"Now  we  know  it  is  not  a  nice  thing  to  ask 
you  to  do,  but  you  have  the  sand  and  sense 
and  are  gritty.  You  know  you  fear  nothing, 
and  if  you  are  the  judge  the  chief  will  not  let 
the  braves  turn  loose  on  us,  for  we  want  you  to 
come  and  help  us  out,  for  we  must  do  what  we 
are  going  to  do  quick,  before  they  get  started 
to  burn  the  town  and  butcher  our  people,  for  it 
is  known  that  there  are  no  troops  nearer  than 
Frisco." 

I  said: 

"Go  ahead  and  get  your  man." 

So  they  got  a  roll  of  rope  and  bound  his  arms 
with  it  and  took  him  up  to  the  courtroom.  It 
was  soon  packed  with  miners  and  Indians. 

Then  they  sent  for  the  squaw  and  her  hus 
band  and  the  chief.  Then  I  went  in  and  played 
judge. 

I  asked  her  to  tell  what  he  did.  She  opened 
her  shawl  and  showed  me  the  bruises  on  her 
arms  and  wounds  on  her  breast  where  he  had 
bitten  her  like  a  brute. 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  207 

I  asked  her  to  show  me  the  man.  She 
showed  me  the  prisoner.  I  asked  the  man  why 
he  did  it.  He  said  that  he  was  drunk  and  did 
not  know  what  he  was  doing.  Then  the  chief 
said: 

1  'If  my  braves  did  that  to  the  Paleface,  you 
would  hang  him  and  make  war  with  the  rest  of 
them." 

I  said: 

"Well,  I  will  fine  you  $50  and  costs  and  you 
will  pay  the  $50  to  the  squaw  before  you  leave 
this  room." 

Then  I  beckoned  to  the  squaw  to  come  to  me. 
The  man  said  he  did  not  have  that  much  money, 
and  that  he  only  had  $30.  He  put  the  $30  on 
the  table.  I  got  the  men  to  give  me  silver  for 
it,  then  told  him  he  must  borrow  the  rest.  I 
knew  that  the  chief  was  watching  every  move 
that  I  made.  Then  some  of  the  men  said: 

"Let  us  all  chip  in." 

So  they  took  up  a  collection.  I  counted  $20 
more  of  silver  dollars  and  gave  it  to  the  squaw, 
saying: 

"This  will  make  it  all  right.  I  made  him  pay 
for  his  drunkenness  and  cruelty." 

The  hard,  cruel  look  passed  from  the  chief's 
face  and  changed  to  a  smile.  He  whipped  out  a 
large  sharp  dagger  and  held  it  up  and  said: 

"I  come  here  to  put  it  in  his  breast.  But  the 
Paleface  has  done  better,  and  the  next  Paleface 
that  is  bad  to  my  squaws  I  will  kill  him." 

I  said: 

"Yes,  but  you  will  not  let  your  braves  do 
anything  of  harm,  now  I  have  settled  this?" 

He  said: 


208  THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY 

"Give  me  your  hand.  I  will  see  not  anyone 
is  hurt.  You  have  done  well." 

Then  I  counted  the  balance  of  the  money  and 
had  $42  left. 

I  said: 

"Let  this  money  start  a  burial  fund,  for  so 
many  of  the  boys  that  die  have  no  money  and 
are  so  far  away  from  home  and  friends,  and 
every  pay  day  throw  in  a  mite.  It  will  grow 
and  he  that  ate  poison  will  be  pleased  to  know 
you  will  not  be  buried  a  pauper." 

They  all  shouted  and  got  excited.  I  thought 
they  were  crazy,  and  I  was  afraid  and  thought 
they  would  get  into  a  fight,  for  they  had  been 
so  still  through  it  all,  but  none  did,  and  now  all 
was  settled. 

They  gave  vent  to  their  feelings  and  yelled 
like  madmen,  and  when  I  got  up  to  go  they 
picked  me  up  and  put  me  on  their  shoulders  and 
carried  me  to  my  tent. 

It  was  not  many  days  after  this  that  it  was 
a  warm  night.  I  felt  something  in  my  bed.  I 
could  not  sleep,  and  as  soon  as  daylight  came  I 
got  up  to  see  what  it  was  in  the  bed,  and  to  my 
horror  there  was  a  swarm  of  lizards;  the  Indians 
called  them  "swifts."  They  ran  up  and  down 
the  walls  of  the  tent  in  swarms.  That  settled 
it.  I  would  not  stay  in  such  a  place,  so  I  began 
to  get  ready  to  leave  for  Colorado.  When 
night  came  I  went  to  the  only  building  called 
a  hotel  to  sleep,  for  I  was  afraid  of  these  lizards. 

It  was  a  clear  moonlight  night  the  anniver 
sary  of  the  27th  year  I  had  been  in  the  West, 
and  the  stage  was  to  leave  the  next  morning  at 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  209 

five  o'clock  for  Kingman  and  take  me  with  it. 
I  had  been  talking  to  the  Indians  about  their 
form  of  worship,  and  when  I  stood  at  my  tent 
door  I  could  not  help  wandering  away  for  quite 
a  distance  on  the  desert.  The  large  cactuses 
seemed  to  take  different  forms.  They  called 
them  " Joshuas"  there.  In  the  moonlight 
they  looked  like  men  and  animals.  I  had  gone 
out  of  sight  of  the  town  of  tents,  when  I  sat  on 
a  fallen  "Joshua"  and  sat  musing  with  my 
thoughts,  and  my  mind  flew  backwards  to  that 
old  thatched-roof  house  where  we  had  a  Bible 
over  five  hundred  years  old,  and  in  one  place  it 
said: 

"If  your  wife  offend  thee,  scourge  her  with  a 
whip." 

But  woman's  intelligence  soon  came  to  their 
aid  and  they  would  not  let  their  children  go  to 
church  or  school  to  be  taught  such  things,  and 
when  the  priests  tried  to  frighten  them  to  send 
their  children  and  go  themselves  they  stood 
firm  and  said: 

"No,  we  will  call  on  God  to  save  us  from  the 
sting  of  the  lash  when  our  husband  is  inflicting 
it  on  us  and  our  conscience  tells  us  that  God 
never  made  man  so  big  and  strong  to  use  that 
strength  on  the  weaker  women  with  a  whip, 
and  we  shall  not  have  our  children  taught  to 
do  such  things  or  our  girls  to  submit  to  being 
whipped  by  their  husbands." 

So  they  had  to  cut  out  of  the  Bible  that  part 
and  stop  preaching  it  or  have  the  churches  all 
to  themselves.  So  women,  with  the  God-given 
weaker  body,  had  the  power  to  defy  the  cunning 

14 


210  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

priestcraft  and  civilize  the  brute  man.  Let  us 
go  further.  They  get  up  a  hell  fire  and  brim 
stone  and  tell  the  people  if  they  do  not  go  to 
church  and  believe  what  is  told  them,  or  do 
anything  contrary  to  its  teaching,  this  Al 
mighty  God  will  burn  them  forever,  so  stay  in 
your  flight  through  life  and  take  a  few  minutes 
to  analyze  this  and  see  what  blasphemy  this  is. 
This  was  frightful.  The  people  blaspheme  the 
all-wise  God,  but  build  up  your  churches  is  the 
cry  of  all  creeds.  There  is  a  creed  in  India 
where  the  women  throw  their  infants  in  the 
river  and  watch  the  alligators  eat  them  up  as 
a  sacrifice  to  this  hungry  God.  Intelligence 
comes  in  and  stops  this,  but  our  churches  of 
today  are  far  worse  than  the  alligator  creed, 
for  the  women  did  not  make  the  alligator  eat 
their  young,  but  all  creeds  admit  that  God 
made  man;  then,  according  to  the  creed  of 
today,  he  made  man  to  be  murdered;  for  when  he 
made  man  he  knew  what  man  would  do  and 
how  long  it  would  take  to  bring  him  to  the 
light  of  reason  and  intelligence.  Yet  they  set 
up  another  God  born  from  animal  woman  whom 
they  call  Christ  and  claim  him  to  be  the  only 
son  of  God,  and  worship  him,  but  they  forget 
that  if  God  had  a  son  he  must  have  had  a  mother 
the  same  as  his  father  in  spirit;  but  creed  says 
that  God  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost, 
leaving  out  the  mother  as  nothing  and  putting 
the  Holy  Ghost  in  her  place;  then  they  get  to 
gether  and  murder  him  in  the  most  cruel  form, 
then  tell  the  people  he  died  to  save  them  all 
from — what?  Was  it  from  the  anger  of  this 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  211 

fatherly  loving  God  who  made  man  the  two- 
legged  alligator  to  murder  his  only  son  as  a 
sacrifice  to  be  murdered  by  man  that  he  created 
himself?  They  ought  to  know  that  God  is  a 
spirit,  and  if  he  has  a  son,  that  son  would  come 
in  his  astral  body,  in  the  brightest  sunlight  or 
in  the  darkest  night,  and  he  would  see  and  hear 
in  every  language,  but  no  man  would  lay  hands 
on  Him,  for  they  that  tried  would  fall  dead  from 
the  electricity  from  his  body  before  they  could 
get  near  enough  to  touch  Him. 

The  Buddhists  claim  to  have  the  only  one,  the 
Chaldeans  claim  to  have  the  only  one,  and  the 
Mohammedans  claim  to  have  the  only  one,  and 
so  it  has  been  for  ages  back. 

The  Indian,  who  knows  no  teacher,  goes  out 
at  sunrise  in  the  morning  and  worships  the  big 
spirit  which  his  higher  self  teaches  him  is  right, 
for  what  is  man  and  what  is  soul?  The  body 
of  man  is  the  casing  of  the  spiritual  body  and 
the  spiritual  body  is  the  casing  of  the  soul  and 
indestructible.  When  a  child  is  born  there  is  no 
life  till  the  breath  enters  that  body  with  the 
spiritual  body,  and  when  it  dies  the  breath, 
with  the  spiritual  body,  the  germ  of  the  God 
which  is  the  soul,  all  leaves  that  human  body  as 
the  workings  of  a  clock  taken  from  its  case, 
and  yet  creed  will  try  to  save  their  souls.  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  a  soul.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  a  soul  being  lost.  You  cannot  lose 
your  soul  or  destroy  it.  Better  pray  for  light 
and  wisdom.  As  I  have  said  before,  there  are 
three  powers  that  control  all  things — electric- 
itv,  vibration,  and  what  I  called  the  Push  is  an 


212  THE    FATE    OF    A    FAIRY 

aura  light  that  is  around  every  living  thing  and 
controls  every  creature,  and  works  with  plane 
tary  vibrations,  according  to  the  position  of 
the  planets.  The  God  head  essence  is  in  this 
light;  if  we  could  only  understand  their  harmony 
and  working  together  we  would  all  be  a  better 
race  of  people. 

And  after  twenty-seven  years  of  wandering 
through  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  the  far  West 
I  drop  amongst  the  people  as  though  I  came 
from  the  clouds,  and  what  do  I  find:  That  our 
public  schools  are  teaching  both  boys  and  girls 
to  be  sports.  The  girls  feel  degraded  to  go  out 
and  do  housework,  and  they  know  nothing  of 
sewing  and  housekeeping,  and  want  a  piano  the 
first  thing.  The  boys  will  not  work  and  are 
looking  for  a  soft  snap,  to  be  a  doctor  or  lawyer 
or  a  politician — anything  to  get  a  graft  out  of 
the  public — and  the  brainy  men  that  are  fitted 
for  these  positions  are  at  their  wit's  end  to  know 
how  to  compete  with  this  army  of  grafters;  and 
as  I  wander  on  I  find  a  lot  of  people  banded  to 
gether  as  temperance  unions,  or  different  names, 
who  have  been  reformed  drunkards  and  had  to 
take  a  big  oath  and  have  a  mob  at  their  backs 
to  keep  them  from  getting  drunk.  These  are 
all  degenerates,  for  if  man  or  woman  cannot 
drink  beer,  wine  or  liquor  without  getting 
beastly  intoxicated,  he  has  no  will  power  and 
is  a  degenerate.  These  people  are  a  curse  to 
the  country,  for  they  say,  "We  do  not  drink 
now  and  you  shall  not  drink."  So  they  want  to 
take  the  rights  of  the  level-headed  people  away, 
who  do  not  say  we  drink  and  you  must  let  these 


THE    FATE    OF   A    FAIRY  213 

people  go  back  to  olden  times.  When  we  had 
good  mothers  they  taught  their  children  to 
drink  without  being  drunkards,  as  they  taught 
them  to  eat  without  being  gluttons.  Mothers, 
stay  at  home  and  teach  your  children  to  eat, 
drink  and  work  and  be  good  men  and  women, 
instead  of  drunkards,  degenerates  and  drones; 
even  the  bees  know  enough  to  destroy  their 
drones. 

I  look  farther1  and  I  find  they  have  built  rail 
roads  under  rivers  in  New  York  and  built  build 
ings  twenty  and  thirty  stories  high.  In  every 
city  where  there  are  large  sheets  of  water  there 
is  a  liability  of  a  volcanic  eruption  which  they 
call  earthquake.  When  they  come,  I  would 
rather  be  in  the  mountains  than  near  those  high 
buildings. 

And  as  I  look  farther  I  find  in  all  large  cities 
they  are  persecuting  the  Jews.  They  will  not 
admit  them  in  the  hotels  and  will  not  rent  them 
houses  in  certain  parts  of  the  cities.  Hark,  all 
ye  Hebrews;  hear  the  prophecy  of  the  Fairy 
who  wears  a  crown  of  silvery  gray;  hear,  now, 
the  time  is  fast  coming  when  this  persecution 
shall  cease,  for  you  are  the  coming  people  of 
this  nation;  you  are  the  commercial  people 
of  this  country;  now  you  are  in  the  light  of  pro 
gression  whilst  two-thirds  of  our  people  are  de 
generates,  and  in  time  to  come  this  mighty 
nation  shall  be  the  Promised  Land  of  the  Jews. 

So,  cheer  up,  for  the  aura  light  is  breaking 
through  the  dark  circle  of  apprehension. 

And  this  is  the  prophecy  of  the  Fated  Fairy  and 
a  wanderer  for  twenty-seven  years  in  the  far  West. 


